BHOPAL: Describing Madhya Pradesh’s senior cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya’s recent ‘ghanta’ remark to a senior journalist as 'indecent, inhuman and authoritarian,' in an official order has led to the suspension of a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in Dewas district.
The SDM Anand Malviya signed an order on January 3, 2026. The order pertained to the deployment of revenue department officers for the maintenance of law and order during the opposition Congress’s statewide protests outside the houses of BJP lawmakers (MPs and MLAs) on January 4.
However, instead of just being an order detailing the deployment of the revenue department officers for the maintenance of law and order, the opening eight lines landed the SDM in trouble.
“Fourteen people have died, and 2,800 are undergoing treatment after drinking contaminated water supplied by the BJP-ruled municipal corporation in Indore. The use of the indecent word ‘ghanta’ by state government minister Kailash Vijayvargiya in response to a journalist’s question on this sensitive issue is inhuman, and a sign of authoritarianism,” the order’s opening para reads.
The order added, “As per instructions of Congress state president Jitu Patwari, party workers would hold 'ghanta' protests by ringing bells outside the houses of BJP MPs and MLAs.”
After the order came to the notice of the Dewas district collector, Ritu Raj, he sent a report on the matter to Ujjain divisional commissioner Ashish Singh on Sunday.
Taking note of the report and the controversial order, the Ujjain divisional commissioner Ashish Singh ordered the concerned SDM Anand Malviya’s suspension on Sunday night.
The suspension order issued by the Ujjain divisional commissioner Ashish Singh stated, “Using incorrect and unverified text on a sensitive public issue amounts to gross negligence and indifference in official conduct and violates the MP Civil Services Conduct Rules, 1965."
During the period of suspension, Malviya will remain attached to the Ujjain Divisional Commissioner’s office and will be entitled to subsistence allowance only, in accordance with existing rules.
As per informed sources in Dewas district administration, the text that led to the SDM’s suspension seems to have been copied verbatim from a memorandum submitted by the opposition Congress leaders ahead of Sunday’s protest.
Sources added that the clerical copy-paste error actually might have been made by the SDM’s reader, but the SDM should have properly checked the contents of the order before signing the concerned order.
The opposition Congress had staged ‘Ghanta Bajao’ protests ringing bells outside the houses of BJP lawmakers across the state on Sunday, over the recent deaths of residents of Indore’s Bhagirathpura area, due to contaminated water supply and Vijayvargiya’s controversial ‘ghanta’ remark.
On December 31 in Indore, when questioned by a senior journalist over the deaths, reimbursement of medical expenses of the victims and lack of sufficient and safe drinking water supply through tankers in the affected locality, the local BJP MLA and state’s urban administration and housing minister Kailash Vijayvargiya had lost his cool and used intemperate language like ‘fokat’ (nonsense) and ghanta (worthless) to the senior TV journalist.
A few hours later, however, Vijayvargiya, in a social media post, had regretted having made those remarks.
To date, while the state government has confirmed the official death toll as 6, the local BJP corporator Kamal Baghela has claimed that it’s actually 15, while local media reports put the toll at 17 on Monday.
The state Congress president, Jitu Patwari, alleged that at least 30 people had died and the government was hiding the real toll.