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Bhind MLA Narendra Singh Kushwaha had an altercation with Bhind District Collector on Tuesday.
Despite attempts at damage control by the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Bhind MLA Narendra Singh Kushwaha and District Collector Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava have filed police complaints against each other related to a heated protest last week during which the legislator allegedly threatened the bureaucrat over fertiliser shortage.
Srivastava, known for his efforts in clamping down on the liquor and mining mafia, told The Indian Express that he sent a police complaint against the MLA. “The issue was not a fertiliser shortage. I have a revenue and mining inspector who has been dispatched to curb corrupt practices. The MLA had come to demand that I remove my officers from his constituency. I refused, and he threatened me. I wanted to sit with him and talk about the issues. I work independently and am not under any pressure. Everyone knows that,” he said.
While the MLA has not responded to the allegations, sources close to him have denied them. “This is false. We can see in the videos that the MLA was seeking an audience with the Collector to raise the issue of fertiliser shortage and was not given an audience,” said a leader close to Kushawaha.
A senior police officer said, “Both the MLA and the Collector have filed police complaints against each other. The MLA has claimed high-handedness during the protest, and the Collector has claimed that his mobile phone was snatched, among other allegations. We have not registered an FIR so far and are investigating the claims first.”
The BJP leadership in Madhya Pradesh had issued a stern warning to MLA Kushwaha after a video purportedly showing him threatening Collector Srivastava during the protest went viral earlier this week.
The MLA was summoned to Bhopal on Friday and “strictly reprimanded” by senior party leaders.
According to party sources, the episode has been treated as a case of “gross indiscipline”. State BJP president Hemant Khandelwal, state in-charge Dr Mahendra Singh, and state organisation secretary Hitanand Sharma held a meeting with Kushwaha at Sharma’s residence in Bhopal, where the MLA was directed to “maintain the dignity of a public representative and improve his conduct”.
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Kushwaha, accompanied by his supporters, had staged a protest, alleging a shortage of fertiliser for farmers.
A video of the confrontation, which went viral on Wednesday, purportedly shows the Collector telling the MLA, “Chori nahi hone dunga (I will not allow theft),” to which Kushwaha angrily retorts, “Sabse bada chor tu khud hai (You are the biggest thief).”
The video also shows the MLA raising his hand as if to strike the officer, while farmers in the background shout slogans against the administration. The MLA then staged a sit-in outside the Collector’s residence, accusing officials of ignoring farmers’ distress.
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