Cong MLA joins BJP in MP
BHOPAL: In a setback for the Madhya Pradesh Congress, its MLA Pr a d y uman S i ngh Lodhi resigned from the party as well as membership of the state Assembly and joined the BJP on Sunday.
Lodhi, who represented the Bada Malhera Assembly seat in Chhatarpur district, joined the BJP at the ruling partys state headquarters here in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
On the occasion, state BJP chief V D Sharma announced Lodhi’s induction into the party fold. Chouhan and Sharma welcomed Lodhi into the BJP.
Talking to reporters after joining the saffron party, the Congress l eader s ai d, “I have resigned as MLA. My resignation has been accepted...”. PTI and his aides have been killed in recent days.
The plea, filed through his wife Vinita Sirohi, contended that her husband Krishn Kumar Sharma may be eliminated through “illegal and unconstitutional means”. Sub-inspector Sharma and three other officials were suspended on July 5.
Filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, the petition also alleged that death of one of the accused -- Amar Dubey -- in an encounter in Maudaha in Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh took place under “suspicious circumstances”.
At least five members of Dubey’s gang have been gunned down in separate encounters since the ambush. Dubey was killed on Friday after a police vehicle carrying him from Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain to Kanpur allegedly overturned in an accident and he tried to escape from the spot in Bhauti area.
A government spokesperson on Sunday the committee was formed as the ambush and the gangster’s death are subjects of “public importance”.
“Hence, their probe is essential,” the spokesperson said, adding that the panel will also investigate “all encounters in the period from July 2-3 to 10” – the period between the ambush and Dubey’s death.
Opposition parties including the Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party had earlier demanded a j udicial probe by a si t t i ng Supreme Court judge into the sequence of events, saying that Dubey’s death appeared to be cover-up to protect the “crime- politics nexus”.
On Saturday, the Uttar Pradesh government had constituted a special investigation team to probe all aspects related to the slain gangster besides the alleged laxity and role of the local police.
Additional chief secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy is heading the team, which also comprises additional DG Hari Ram Sharma and DIG Ravinder Goud as its members, according to an official statement.
The SIT will submit its report by July 31 after looking into all the angles, studying all related documents and spot inspection in Kanpur, it said.
The team has been asked to probe what effective action was taken in all cases lodged against Dubey. had come to meet him at his Jaipur residence to convey that they were with the chief minister in the hour of political turmoil.
The officials posted at the residence said that as many as 95 lawmakers have given a letter of support to Gehlot, which is said to be another show of strength.
The crisis surfaced on Friday when the Rajasthan Police issued notices to Gehlot, Pilot and the government chief whip, seeking time from them to record their statements over an alleged bid to destabilise the state’s Congress government. Those close to Pilot said the letter from the special operations group (SOG) had upset the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress chief, who apparently saw this as an insult.
But, in a tweet Sunday, Gehlot stressed that the notices had gone to several people. He did not name Pilot, but said that a section of the media had interpreted the notices wrongly.
“The notices have been issued to the chief minister, the deputy chief minister, the government chief whip and some other MLAS. It is a part of the process,” SOG Additional Director General Ashok Rathore told PTI on Sunday.
He said as the investigation proceeds, others could also be issued notices.
Independent MLA Babulal Nagar said he is among the legislators issued with the notice.
“The SOG has issued notice to me and has sought time. There are ot her MLAS who have received such notices,” Nagar told reporters outside the CM’S residence, where he had gone to meet him.
“We have faith in the leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and we have expressed this to him,” he added.
In the 200-member Rajasthan assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAS and has the support of another 18, taking its tally to 125. The BJP has 72 legislators and is supported by three MLAS of Hanuman Beniwal’s RSLP. In the Rajya Sabha elections on June 19, the two Congress candidates got votes of all 125 legislators supporting the government.