Shivraj Singh Chouhan Allows Government Bunglows to Three Former BJP CMs, Snubs Digvijay Singh
Digvijay Singh, Uma Bharti, Kailash Joshi and Babulal Gaur were asked to vacate their government bungalows in Bhopal in compliance with a recent Supreme Court ruling.
Bhopal, July 28: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday used his ‘discretionary powers’ and allowed three (out of four) former chief ministers of the state to retain their government bungalows. Interestingly, Chouhan snubbed former chief minister Digvijay Singh and provided the facility to Uma Bharti, Kailash Joshi and Babulal Gaur - belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Digvijay Singh, Uma Bharti, Kailash Joshi and Babulal Gaur were asked to vacate their government bungalows in Bhopal in compliance with a recent Supreme Court ruling. When the former chief ministers expressed their willingness to retain their official residences, Chouhan reportedly said that he could use his ‘discretionary powers’ at least for senior BJP leaders.
The state government said the chief minister hold special powers to allot bungalows to significant political and social dignities, adding that Digvijay Singh didn't make a formal request to retain his official residence. “Those who had given applications to the chief minister could retain their bungalows. There was no communication from Digvijay Singh," an officer in the home department told TOI.
In 2017, a law student Raunak Yadav filed a petition before the Madhya Pradesh High Court challenging an amendment made by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh Ministers (Salary and Allowances) Act 1972. The change was created to allow former chief ministers to avail lifelong facilities at par with that of ministers in the government.
A similar petition was filed in the Supreme Court against the allotment of government residences to Uttar Pradesh's former chief ministers. The apex court cancelled the allotment after which the Estate Department in May ordered six ex-chief ministers - Kalyan Singh (now Rajasthan Governor), Rajnath Singh (now Union Home Minister), Mulayam Singh (currently Lok Sabha MP from Azamgarh), Mayawati, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and N.D. Tiwari (presently hospitalised in Delhi) to vacate their official bungalows within 15 days.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 28, 2018 04:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).