Madhya Pradesh FM Raghavji resigns over sodomy charges

Denies allegation made by his male domestic help

Raghavji’s 10-year-long stint as Madhya Pradesh finance minister ended abruptly on Friday, as the 79-year-old resigned after his domestic help levelled allegations of sexual exploitation against him.

A CD purportedly featuring Raghavji surfaced in Bhopal and a police complaint was filed by his male domestic help, alleging he was being exploited by the minister.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has forwarded Raghavji’s resignation to Governor Ram Naresh Yadav. State water resource management minister Jayant Malaiyya has been given the finance portfolio.

“The chief minister asked me to send my resignation letter at 10.30 in the morning. I have sent the resignation letter through fax. He said he would have a word with me once he was back from Raipur. I didn’t find it necessary to ask him the reasons. We don’t have a servant by the name of Rajkumar Dangi. There is a boy from our district, who could not find a place to stay, so he has been staying with us for a long time. The charge of sodomy is fake. It might be a conspiracy. I don’t even know what charges he has levelled but if he has said this, then it is absolutely wrong,” Raghavji told reporters.

Soon after the controversy came to light, senior members of the BJP said Raghavji had announced he was not inclined to contest the Assembly election later this year and was keen to retire from electoral politics.

BJP leaders said the controversy surrounding a senior leader just three months before the assembly election would cause a lot of embarrassment for the party.

“We are hoping it will not last three months and not become a big election issue. If the allegations were related to financial irregularity, then it would have been more damaging. Raghavji was not a big caste leader in the state and he had not been paying attention to his constituency, Vidisha, considered a safe seat for the party,” said a senior BJP leader.

Raghavji is known for his state finance management, tax reforms, and standing firm against the Central government on the goods and services tax issue. He had set a record in presenting the state budget for 10 years in a row from 2004, when BJP took the saddle from the Congress government.

He is described as an “old war horse” of BJP, who was part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and later joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) to entire active politics in Madhya Pradesh. Raghavji joined BJP when the party was formed.

“Since he was part of Vidisha for a very long time and the constituency is also the hometown of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the two leaders were never on good terms. A tussle was always going on between them,” said a BJP leader.    

The state’s opposition party, Congress, has described it an unfortunate incident. Opposition leader Ajay Singh said “moral corruption” is more dangerous for society than any other forms of corruption.

BJP LEADERS IN ‘DIRTY PICTURE’

• December 2005: Former BJP general secretary Sanjay Joshi was allegedly caught in a sleaze CD. He had to step down from the post.
• February 16, 2012: Three BJP leaders C C Patil, Lakshmana Savadi and Krishna Paelar were allegedly caught watching porn in Karnataka Assembly.
• March 22, 2012: Shankar Chaudhary and Jethabhai Bharwad were allegedly caught watching porn in the Gujarat Assembly. They later got a clean chit.
• July 5, 2013: Former FM of Madhya Pradesh, Raghavji, caught in a sleaze CD after allegations by personal staff.