Jyotiraditya Scindia Brings Breach of Privilege Notice Against Shivraj Chouhan After 'Exclusion' From MP Event

Bhopal: Breaking silence over his exclusion from the foundation-laying ceremony of a four-lane highway in his parliamentary constituency Guna, MP Jyotiraditya Scindia has handed a breach of privilege notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker against Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the collector.

The MP government held a function in Guna on July 23 in the presence of Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari for the foundation-laying ceremony of the Shivpuri-Dewas four-lane highway.

However, the Congress has alleged that Scindia’s name was missing from the invites and he was not approached for the function. The party was also upset after its MLA Mahendra Singh Sisodia was allegedly pushed off the stage by security personnel when he objected to Scindia’s absence.

The BJP has maintained that the invites were sent to the dignitaries as per the protocol.

Though Scindia did not react immediately, he took to Twitter on Tuesday to inform about the notice against Chouhan and collector Vijay Datta.

Seeking stringent action against the chief minister, the state government and Datta, Scindia sought replacement of the plaque that was unveiled at the ceremony to include his name. “I seek an unconditional apology from those who have tried to damage my reputation,” he said.

Venting his anger on the microblogging site, the former Union minister said Chouhan could remove his name from the plaque and push the MLA away from the stage but he would not be able to take ‘them and their developmental works’ out of the public’s hearts.

Scindia claimed that the highway project was sanctioned by the UPA and then minister Jitin Prasad had laid its foundation in 2012.

Tagging some pictorial evidence with the tweets, he alleged that the plaque carrying his name was broken and a new one was made overnight for the function.

“The incident violated set protocol and rules and it was a breach of my privilege as I represent the Guna-Shivpuri public,” the MP alleged.

Scindia found support in senior leader Kamal Nath, who also said Sisodia was pushed off the stage during the function.

However, seeking to play down the controversy, public relations minister Narottam Mishra said the Guna collector had issued a statement that he had contacted Scindia’s PA who told him that the former Union minister was busy. “It’s nothing but an attention-seeking gimmick by Congress leaders who are unnerved by the chief minister’s ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’,” he alleged.