Shivraj a ‘reincarnation’ of tribal revolutionary: Mantri

Cong slams leader’s remark, calls it ‘insult’ to freedom fighter

Madhya Pradesh agriculture minister Kamal Patel on Monday stirred a row when he described chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as “reincarnation” of 19th century tribal revolutionary Tantya Bhil.

Mr Patel said the chief minister was Tantya Bhil, a freedom fighter who was hanged to death by the British in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh on December four, 1889, in his last birth while drawing a parallel between them.

The minister was addressing the “Kranti Surya Gaurav Yatra” organised at Bhikangaon in Khargone district to pay homage to the tribal leader.

“Tantya Bhil was slim, so is the chief minister. Tantya was affectionately called Mama by his followers for helping the needy. Mr Chouhan is also known as Mama in Madhya Pradesh for similar reasons.

“Tantya used to loot the British officers to help the poor. Similarly, the chief minister is taxing the rich to serve the poor,” Mr Patel said amid thunderous applause by the tribals gathered on the occasion.

The tribal leader, described by the British as “Robin Hood of India”, was born in Badada village under Pandhana tehsil in Khandwa district in 1840.

He was skilled in guerrilla warfare and had challenged a strong 200 British soldiers for around a decade in jungles before being arrested in 1889.

The New York Times had prominently covered his arrest in its edition of November ten, 1889.

He is a highly revered figure among the tribals in Madhya Pradesh. Many tribals worship him as a “supernatural” force.

A temple has been built for him in the village of Gadhi Khatoda under Bhikangaon tehsil in Khargone district.

The CM had recently announced to rename Patalpani railway station in Indore after the tribal leader. The Congress has slam-med Mr Patel for his remarks describing it an “insult” to the tribal leader.

“It is a poor portrayal of the tribal freedom fighter,” Congress media coordinator Narendra Singh Saluja said.