‘CM used roads fund to buy SUV’

Bhopal:concluding its 3-day parallel ‘monsoon session’ on state assembly premises, opposition Congress slammed chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the purchase of a Toyota Fortuner SUV worth ₹30 lakh from a ‘Kisan sadak nidhi’ for him.

Kisan sadak nidhi is a fund maintained by Madhya Pradesh State Agriculture Marketing Board commonly known as Mandi Board, for construction and upgrading of roads and bridges in rural areas.

Leader of opposition in the assembly Ajay Singh said, “It was unfortunate that when farmers were committing suicide in the state a Fortuner vehicle worth ₹30 lakh was purchased for the chief minister as he happened to be the co-chairman, empowered committee of Kisan sadak nidhi.”

The opposition Congress held a ‘parallel monsoon session’ on the state assembly premises for three days beginning from Wednesday to protest adjournment of the House sine die.

Ajay Singh said this purchase took place a month prior to Mandsaur police firing on June 6, 2017, which claimed lives of five farmers.

A sum of ₹32070 was spent through an ‘RTO agent’ to get a VIP registration number of the vehicle.

This amount included charges realised by the agent, he added. He said when CM was observing fast after Mandsaur firing the vehicle added to the chief minister’s fleet at his official bungalow.

Managing director Mandi Board Faiz Ahmad Kidwai confirmed that a vehicle was purchased for the CM’S official use but, he added, he would have to check from which fund it was purchased.

State government’s spokesperson parliamentary affairs minister Narottam Mishra refused to comment. RANJAN