Bhopal:
After a long -time silence, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has finally addressed the controversy that has ignited the political scenario of the state. Responding to the demand of the Congress for the resignation of Minister Vijay Shah, he said that the Congress itself is entangled in legal troubles, which have pending cases against many of its leaders.
“How can they demand resignation from others when they have failed to maintain accountability within their own ranks?” He commented, asking why the Congress did not demand the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda differently confirmed that the issue is under serious discussion at the highest level of the party leadership.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Minister Vijay Shah is absent from a public point of view since Wednesday afternoon, after demanding the removal of Congress members from the office.
His disappearance also comes in view of strong criticism of handling the FIR of the High Court police, which lacked proper legal format.
In Bhopal, the police intervened to prevent a group of Congress women workers from performing the residence of Minister Shah outside. While holding the poster of the army officer Colonel Sophia Qureshi, he chased the slogans demanding action.
Fear of tension, security forces deployed significant number of personnel in Shyamala Hills to secure the minister’s residence.
Additionally, Congress workers staged protests at police stations in Sagar and Morena, pressurizing the authorities to register an FIR against Shah. Congress MLAs are to meet Governor Mangubhai Patel on Friday to formally request the immediate dismissal of the minister.
Leader of the Opposition, Umang Sigar has announced that the party MLAs will urge the Governor to work fast in removing Shah from his ministerial post.
In Indore, in an attempt to distance themselves from the growing controversy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers obscured a banner characterized by Minister Vijay Shah at an event organized by the Indore Municipal Corporation.
Earlier in the day, Shah demanded interim relief from the Supreme Court, but his petition was rejected.
Subsequently, the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued four-places criticizing the state police for its poor draft FIR against the minister.
During Thursday’s hearing, a division bench in which Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Anuradha Shukla described the state police as a formality.
The court emphasized that despite the clear instructions issued the previous day, several important legal provisions were abandoned.
Given the flashing deficiencies in the FIR, the judiciary found it necessary to take care of the investigation to protect its integrity from external influence or political pressure.
The controversy, Rakunda, Mho (Ambedkarnagar) stems from Shah’s inflammatory comments during an event, where he allegedly vesting that the Prime Minister appointed the “sister” of those responsible for the Pahgam terror attack.
Although the name of Colonel Qureshi was not directly mentioned, the reference was infallible, promoting resentment in political circles. Already with a political atmosphere at a boiling point, the High Court on Wednesday took cognizance of the case, expressing the serious “dissatisfaction” with an FIR registered at the Manpur police station in Indore (Rural).
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