Bhopal: In a distinctly autocratic act, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP central vice-president, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ‘warned’ the district collector (of consequences) if his party were to return to power. This happened after, allegedly, his helicopter was denied permission to land in Chhindwara’s Umreth.
He said, “In West Bengal, it was Mamatadidi, who was not letting us land. After her, Kamal Nathdada has come…dear pitthucollector, listen carefully, what will happen to you when our days will be back soon?” Adding further, Chouhan said, “In a democracy, everyone is allowed to do campaigns. But these people (District Election Officer and Chhindwara district collector) are deliberately trying to ruin my rallies. It is unfortunate that the collector is not allowing star campaigners of the BJP for electioneering.”
Chouhan was to land at 05.30 pm but the authorities told him that he couldn’t land after 5 pm.
Enraged, Chouhan said, “I would have reached Umreth at around 5:30 pm. But my staff was informed that I must be there by 5pm, or else they won’t let me land. I am holding rallies in other states and different parts of the state but nothing of this sort has happened anywhere else. I requested them please allow me to land the helicopter until 6 pm… I oppose this incident; this is anti-democratic. Governments will come and go, but nobody should do this.” He further added that since he didn’t have any other choice he went by road to interact with people of the Gurmandi area.
Chouhan has approached the Election Commission (EC) urging it to take action against Chhindwara district collector.
Congress spokesperson NarendraSaluja said, “The officials just followed the rules. Chouhan was the chief minister for 13 years yet the language used by him was objectionable. We will file a formal complaint with the Election Commission against Shivraj Singh Chouhan for threatening government officials.”
Earlier, there were reports that landing permissions were denied to other BJP senior leaders like UP CM Yogi Adityanath, president Amit Shah, union minister SmritiIrani and national spokesperson ShahnawazHussain at different places.
This is not the first time that the BJP members have indulged in such ‘goonda-raj’ by threatening the bureaucrats for performing their duties. Earlier, union minister and BJP candidate from Buxar, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, wascaught misbehaving with the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) KK Upadhyay after his convoy was stopped for violating the Model Code of Conduct. He had said that he knows how to instil sense in the SDM.
Chhindwara is scheduled to go to polls on April 29. The main candidates are Nakul Kamal Nath (Congress), NathansahaKawreti (BJP) and GyaneshwarGajbhiye (BSP).
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