Digvijaya accuses MP of diverting public funds for BJP's 'election agenda'

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday alleged that the Madhya Pradesh government was diverting public funds for the "election agenda" of the ruling BJP, and accused officials of damaging the already weak financial condition of the state through manipulation of figures.

He also warned that if the Congress comes to power in the state after the upcoming assembly polls, strict action will be taken against the erring officials irrespective of their seniority.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hit back at Singh over his allegations and for "threatening" officials.

Elections to the 230-member legislative assembly are scheduled to be held by the end of this year.

In a post on his 'X' account, Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said the officials of the Madhya Pradesh Finance Department need to remain alert in view of the economic condition of the state. "To fulfil BJP's election agenda, top officials of the Finance Department are manipulating the figures and causing further damage to the already shaky financial condition of the state," the Congress' Rajya Sabha member said. The state finance department has already stopped funding to 137 schemes, he claimed. "The budget of other important schemes is also being stopped without any announcement and the government's money is being diverted to the BJP's election agenda. In this way, top officials of the finance department are postponing many important expenses for the present and creating huge liabilities for the future," the former chief minister alleged. He also claimed that he has received information that senior officers are pressuring their subordinates to write the desired note-sheets.

The actual debt on the state is higher than what is being shown, Singh said, adding that the funds of various departments are being diverted for the election agenda of the government. "I want to warn the erring officers that after the Congress government comes to power, these activities will be thoroughly investigated and strict action will be taken against them irrespective of their seniority," he said. Reacting to Singh's post, CM Chouhan said, "Digvijay Singh is threatening the officials, saying that money is being misappropriated. They (opposition) are saying where so much money is coming from? When good and righteous people run the government then God is also happy." What is the problem in this as the Congress used to say that we do not have money, he asked while addressing 'Mukhyamantri Krishak Mitra Yojana' programme in Bhopal.

Apparently referring to Congress leader and his predecessor Kamal Nath, CM Chouhan said, "The former chief minister used to say - 'What should I do? I don't have any money as Mama (as Chouhan is popularly called) has emptied the coffers'...As if it was not Mama but Aurangzeb. He kept crying that he had no money. I say I have no shortage of money." The Kamal Nath-led Congress government ruled Madhya Pradesh from December 2018 to March 2020. A rebellion by party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia prompted several of his loyal MLAs in the state to quit, leading to the collapse of the Nath government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has recently announced several sops, including the Ladli Behna Yojana', under which eligible women beneficiaries are given Rs 1,250 per month.