BHOPAL: The ruling Congress in Madhya Pradesh demanded on Saturday that a criminal case be lodged against BJP national general-secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya for talking in threatening tone and interrupting government work by staging a dharna outside the commissioner's residence in Indore on Friday.
A Congress delegation led by state unit vice-president (organization) Chandraprabhash Shekhar met DGP VK Singh in Bhopal on Saturday and submitted a complaint, seeking registration of a criminal case against the BJP leader for his threatening public utterances.
Confirming that the Congress delegation met him and submitted a complaint, DGP VK Singh told The New Indian Express that the complaint has been referred to the Indore Police for being legally examined. Also, Congress workers headed by Vivek Khandelwal displayed matchboxes with Kailash Chap Machis written on the packing to mock at Vijayvargiya’s threat words.
Peeved over administrative and police officials not heeding to the local BJP leader’s written request to meet him and public representatives of the party in Indore on Friday afternoon, Vijayvargiya lost his cool in front of a government official.
Talking to an SDM, he said, "A letter was written to them (officials) intimating that we wanted to meet them to discuss the issues confronting Indore. But forget about meeting us, they (officials) didn’t even inform us whether they are in or out of town. We won’t tolerate this, had the office bearers of Sangh (RSS) not been in Indore, we would have set Indore ablaze."
Vijayvargiya, who was flanked by other BJP leaders, including local MP Shankar Lalwani and MLAs Ramesh Mendola and Akash Vijayvargiya, didn’t stop there, but went on to say in the same threatening tone.
"Such arrogance among local officials towards public representatives isn’t healthy in democracy. Neglecting BJP and its leaders will prove costly to the concerned officials..I hope they (officials) know what I’m hinting at. Are the officials working for Kamal Nath or the people of MP," he said.
Importantly, top office bearers of the RSS (BJP’s parent outfit), including Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat are presently in Indore for the three-day national conclave slated from January 5-7.
Informed sources confided to The New Indian Express that Vijayvargiya (ex-Indore mayor and former MLA from different seats of Indore) had asked local officials to meet him over various local issues, particularly the ongoing demolition drive against land sharks and organized mafia, which include some powerful men close to BJP leaders.
Angered over the local officials not meeting him and other BJP leaders on Friday afternoon, Vijayvargiya sat on a dharna outside the outside the commissioner’s residence in Indore. "If the BJP people, including party workers are targeted by the ongoing anti-mafia demolition drive, we won’t sit and watch as mute spectators. We’ve prepared a list of 167 Congress workers whose shops and houses are illegal, why isn’t the local administration acting against them," Vijayvargiya asked on Friday.
Responding to Vijayvargiya threat to set Indore afire, state Higher Education minister Jeetu Patwari said, "Such threats clearly suggest that the BJP and its leaders are pained by action against mafia. The people of the state are wise enough to understand who protected the mafia and who’s acting against land sharks and mafia now. All those who are threatening to set Indore afire should realize as soon as possible that now the Kamal Nath government is in power in Madhya Pradesh."