Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress has begun after the fall of six idols of the seven Rishis or Saptarshis at Ujjain because of a storm.
After the Congress came down heavily on the ruling party on the issue, urban development minister Bhupendra Singh said the work order had been issued for the corridor during the rule of the Congress government led by Kamal Nath.
At a press conference on Tuesday, he said that the Smart City Company was handed over the corridor construction work during the BJP rule. After the tender for the work was passed, the Congress issued the work order. Art work was presented in June 2019.
Payment was made to the company twice during the Congress rule. Presentation of Mahakal Lok was done in 2019 in the presence of the Congress ministers. In the presentation, information about the installation of statues was given.
Singh further said agreement for construction of Mahakal Lok was inked between Congress government and the M/s MP Babria, DH Patel and Gayatri Electricals. Singh said there was no corruption in the corridor construction.
The way the Congress is making allegations against the government indicates that they were involved in corruption, Singh said, adding that if necessary, there will be an inquiry into the case. The cost of more than 100 idols was Rs 7.75 crore and that the contractor concerned will replace the damaged idols with the new ones, he said.
The Congress is doing dirty politics over the issue, but they should provide evidence of corruption, Singh said. (box) Kamal Nath govt’s contribution in Mahakal Lok recognised: Congress Reacting to Bhupendra Singh’s statements in the press conference, MPCC president Kamal Nath’s media adviser Piyush Babel twitted: In an attempt to hide his government’s sins, Singh at least recognised the contribution of the Nath-led government in Mahakal Lok.
Babel further said, “Had those idols been installed during the rule of the Nath government, they would have withstood all vagaries of weather like the statue of Lord Hanuman in Chhindwara.” (box) Several ministers in Cabinet opposed to PC Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan informed his Cabinet colleagues about the Mahakal corridor on Tuesday.
Chouhan advised his ministers to keep away from talking about the issue in press conferences. Such issues should not be dragged on, he said. Minister Vishvas Sarang was also opposed to holding a press conference. Sarang said the Congress would take the credit for constructing the Mahakal corridor.
