MP CM re-allots bungalows to 3 former BJP CMs

A month after the Madhya Pradesh High Court asked it to get houses of four former chief ministers in the capital vacated, the state government has re-allotted bungalows to three former BJP CMs under a new category.

On June 19, a division bench of Chief Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice AK Shrivastava had held that Section 5 (1) of the Madhya Pradesh Mantri Vetan Thatha Bhata Adhiniyam 1972 (MP Ministers Salaries and Allowances Act), incorporated last year, was "unconstitutional".

The bench also said that the four bungalows occupied by former chief ministers-- Uma Bharti, Kailash Joshi, Babulal Gaur (BJP) and Digvijay Singh (Congress) were to be vacated within a month.

Using his discretionary powers, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has re-allocated houses to the three BJP CMs, a senior state Home department official said today.

He said that the bungalows were allocated under the category of social workers and dignitaries after the three former CMs of the ruling party applied for it.

However, Digvijay Singh did not put in any such request, the official informed.

The state government had earlier last week, cancelled the allotment of houses to the four chief ministers.

The HC order came in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down an amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1981, saying it violated the principle of equality.

Petitioner Raunaq Yadav had approached MP HC and drawn its attention to the SC order.