Amid a row brewing over his tweet linked to the clashes in Madhya Pradesh on Ram Navami, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said that he deleted the post only because ‘the picture was not of Khargone (the district that saw violence).’ “Even in my tweet, I had only asked questions. I deleted the tweet only because that picture was not of Khargone,” he told news agency ANI. The former chief minister has been facing criticism from rivals over the post and the controversial image that was used. Madhya Pradesh witnessed violence in two districts on Sunday as Ram Navami processions were carried out.
Five cases have been filed so far linked to the senior Congress leader. Earlier, an FIR was filed against Singh in Bhopal on Tuesday evening after a complaint by local resident Prakash Mande. The four other FIRs were registered on Tuesday night in Gwalior, Jabalpur, Narmadapuram and Satna, news agency PTI reported, citing an official.
A relentless Singh, however, said that he won’t stop raising questions against ‘communalism’ even if one lakh FIRs were filed against him. “Even if one lakh FIRs are registered against me for speaking against communal hysteria, I will not regret speaking up,” he was quoted as saying.
On Tuesday, he had said: "Did the Khargone administration allow a procession carrying weapons like sticks and swords? Will bulldozers run at the homes of all those who throw stones, irrespective of religion? Do not forget Shivraj ji, you have taken an oath to run the government impartially." Later, he deleted the tweet after there was an uproar over the image he posted, said to be from Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
Digvijay Singh’s tweet caused ‘tension in Madhya Pradesh throughout the day yesterday’, Madhya Pradesh minister Vishwas Sarang said. “Yesterday I wrote a letter to Twitter asking to block Digvijay Singh's Twitter account,” he told news agency ANI.
{{/usCountry}}Digvijay Singh’s tweet caused ‘tension in Madhya Pradesh throughout the day yesterday’, Madhya Pradesh minister Vishwas Sarang said. “Yesterday I wrote a letter to Twitter asking to block Digvijay Singh's Twitter account,” he told news agency ANI.
{{/usCountry}}Home minister Narottam Mishra said, "Digvijay Singhji always does such things whether it is a matter of defaming Madhya Pradesh or spreading communal tension"
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also attacked Singh. In the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday afternoon, the chief minister said, “Former chief minister Digvijay Singh wants to spread tension in the state. He is conspiring to throw the state in the fire of riots. It will not be tolerated.”
Congress leaders called this act of Singh a mistake. “Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh posted a wrong video mistakenly and he rectified his mistake by deleting it.” Cong MLA PC Sharma said.
Meanwhile, according to PTI, Singh wrote a letter to Bhopal police commissioner, seeking that an FIR be registered against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for allegedly posting a fabricated video about Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on May 16, 2019.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)