Congress accuses Madhya Pradesh government of corruption in installation of idols, seeks judicial probe into Mahakal temple incident

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday accused the Madhya Pradesh government of corruption in installation of idols and demanded a judicial probe into the Mahakal Lok corridor incident in Ujjain, saying ”even gods and temples are not spared”.

Congress in-charge for Madhya Pradesh J P Aggarwal said while the previous BJP government in Karnataka was dubbed as one of ”40 per cent commission”, the corruption in the Madhya Pradesh government has also come out in the open when several idols in the Mahakal Lok corridor got destroyed in a storm as they were made of substandard quality.

He also posed five questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, alleging they were playing with the faith of crores in the country and asked when they will apologise to the people.

LIVE: Congress party briefing by Shri Jai Prakash Agarwal & Shri Abhay Dubey at AICC HQ. https://t.co/BUXBVqBWpG

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”The BJP is not even sparing gods and temples to indulge in corruption, as idols were broken in the corridor on which crores were spent and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the complex last year.

”We demand that a high court-monitored commission should investigate the scam as it is a question of crores of people of the state,” Aggarwal told reporters.

”Were the idols made of paper that they got broken with a slight wind… The country is asking till when will the BJP continue to play with the faith of people to enjoy the fruits of power,” he also asked.

AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, ”There were discussions about the 40 percent commission government of BJP in Karnataka. The BJP government of Madhya Pradesh is one step ahead. Even god was not spared in this government, there was corruption even in idols.” ”Just like the people of Karnataka punished the BJP for corruption, similarly the people of Madhya Pradesh will also teach them a lesson,” he said.

Six of the seven idols of ‘Saptarishis’ installed at the Mahakal Lok corridor, developed on the Mahakaleshwar temple premises in Ujjain, have collapsed and suffered damages due to gusty winds, officials said.

No person was injured in the incident which took place on Sunday around 4 pm when a large number of visitors were present at the site, they said.

Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Mahakal Lok corridor project last October.

This incident gave fresh ammunition to the opposition Congress to hit out at the BJP government in the state, alleging corruption in the project and demanded a probe into the ”sub-standard” quality of construction.

Congress leader Abhay Dubey said soon after the Congress will come to power in Madhya Pradesh, marble idols will be installed in temples across the state. He alleged that the idols installed by the BJP are those of fibre and are hollow.

He also accused the BJP of ”violating their aastha’ (faith) and claimed that the Lokayukta has already held 15 officials guilty.

Aggarwal said Rs 351 crore was spent on the construction of the first phase of the Mahakal project and asked whether a Gujarat company was given the contract for idols installed there.

”Did Ujjain local MLA Mahesh Parmar and several other legislators raise the demand for a probe into the alleged corruption in the Mahakal project and smart city from chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan,” he asked.

Ujjain collector Kumar Purshottam said there are a total of 160 idols installed at the Mahakal Lok corridor, out of them six idols of ‘Saptarishis’ (seven sages) that were around 10 feet tall fell down around 4 pm as strong winds swept through the area.

Chouhan on Monday said he had ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Source: Press Trust of India