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Digvijay Singh (born 28 February 1947) is an Indian politician, a former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress political party. Before being elected as a Chief Minister he had served as a minister in the Cabinet of Arjun Singh, the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh during 1980–84. He became the President of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in the year 1985. He served as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for two consecutive five-year terms. He first became Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on 7 December 1993 and continued to hold the office till Congress was voted out of the power in November 2003. He is the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee.

Early life

Digvijay Singh was born in the Raghogarh royal principality. He hails from a Rajput background. He was educated at the Daly College in Indore. He is also an alumnus of Shri Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science, where he completed a B.E. in Civil Engineering in 1968.

Personal life

He has four daughters and a son. His wife Asha Singh died on 27 February 2013 at an age of 58 in Delhi after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Political career

Digvijay Singh first became president of the Raghogarh municipal committee at the age of 22 years. He then joined the Congress party in 1971. He contested his first assembly elections in 1977 for the congress party and became an MLA for the first time from Raghogarh constituency. He was again elected MLA from Raghogarh constituency and became a Minister of State and later a Cabinet Minister in the Madhya Pradesh state government led by Arjun Singh in 1980–84. He was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1984 and 1991 from Rajgarh constituency and became the President of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in 1985. In 1993 Digvijay Singh became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. He won the bye election from Chachhoda constituency as he could not contest from the Raghogarh constituency which was vacated for him by his brother Laxman Singh who won the seat in 1993 assembly elections because Laxman Singh's election to assembly was challenged by a candidate through a petition. He then got re-elected for his second term as chief minister in 1998 and again won the election from Raghogarh constituency. However, Congress was voted out by the people in 2003 assembly elections; BJP has been in power since then. He was elected MLA from the Raghogarh constituency in 2003.

Praise for Development of Madhya Pradesh and self claim

In 2010, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan praised Digvijay Singh stating that during his tenure as Chief Minister, he had launched many schemes for the uplift of Dalits, poor and economically backward class in the state and maintained personal relations with people cutting across party lines. He said that Singh's helping nature and kind heartedness make him an evergreen leader even today. In April 2013, Chouhan claimed that Madhya Pradesh had achieved a 10.2% growth rate under the 11 thFive Year Plan period, which is twice the national average. This accomplishment, the chief minister claimed, has been the outcome of tremendous development in infrastructure, agriculture, power and industry segments. Digvijay Singh referred the statement as a false propaganda and that those are utterly false claims. However a day later, he demanded the credit for development of Madhya Pradesh. My government started the development process.

Controversies

Chhattisgarh Separation

After the formation of Chhattisgarh in 2001, Digvijay Singh played a major role in the selection of Ajit Jogi as the Chief Minister for the state. While Singh managed to convince the majority of Congress Legislator Party members to back Ajit Jogi, the absence of Vidya Charan Shukla and his supporters at the meeting raised questions about the exercise of seeking consensus as Shukla was the other top contender for the post. Digvijay Singh, accompanied by Ghulam Nabi Azad and Prabha Rao, went to meet V.C. Shukla at his residence in Raipur, soon after the election of Ajit Jogi, to placate him. At around 2 pm about 200 men, including Madhya Pradesh Minister Ashok Rao, confronted them at Shukla's residence. They refused to let the car in, but the chief minister stepped out and asked the men to behave themselves. This provoked the mob which hurled abuses and began heckling Digvijay until he fell. Singh and Azad were hit and slapped by them. They ripped Singh's kurta, flung slippers and socked him at random. Shellshocked for the first few minutes, the chief minister started striking back. It was left to Shukla to control the men and escort Digvijay inside. Shukla later commented "It was a very unfortunate and reprehensible incident. These were some anti-socials who had come in. Neither do they belong to the Congress nor do they have anything to do with me,” he later said.

Corruption allegations and counter-allegations

• In 2001, during an income tax raid on a liquor manufacturer in Bhopal, income tax authorities seized a diary maintained by the distillery's owners. They found the names of several officials and politicians of the state and their bribe money written against their names in the diary which reportedly also listed Digvijay Singh's name with a payment of 100 million rupees against it. Digvijay Singh was the chief minister at the time. Digvijay Singh said that this was a conspiracy by Bharatiya Janata Party and National Democratic Alliance to destabilize his government. Digvijay Singh on his own had written to then Prime Minister Sh.Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 28 August 2001 requesting for a CBI probe or by any other central agency he deemed appropriate. In his letter to Vajpayee, Digvijay said that he greatly valued probity in public life and would like his own to be transparent and accountable. He added that his personal property records had also been regularly tabled in the state assembly. He also attached a copy of the property records for 2000 along with the letter to the Prime Minister.

• In October, 2012, Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the Treasure Island, Indore scam against him in which Madhya Pradesh Lok Ayukta had registered a First Information Report in 2004 under the Prevention of Corruption Act to probe allegations of criminal conspiracy and corruption.

• In December 2012 Digvijay Singh was granted anticipatory bail after then BJP president Nitin Gadkari took Singh to court over Digvijay's claim that Gadkari has links with various fake companies which were earning illegal profits, and also in Gadkari's hand in illegal coal block allocations. Singh had alleged that then BJP President Gadkari had pocketed the sum of Rs 490 core while illegally allocating coal blocks to BJP MP Ajay Sancheti. Digvijay said he stood by his views and would do more research to substantiate his claims about Gadkari. According to Digvijay: "Now I can say everything in front of the court the way Gadkari has worked as a businessman and how he has links with various other businessmen, which all companies of his were fake and how he earned profits."

The Hemant Karkare Case

In December 2010, Digvijay Singh gave several interviews in the Media claiming that Mumbai ATS Chief Mr. Hemant Karkare called him hours before he was killed, talking to him about threats to his (Karkare's) life from Hindu extremist groups. A petition was filed in a local court against him, alleging that his remarks in connection with slain Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, was an attempt to whip up communal frenzy. However the Maharashtra government was unable to find any evidence that such a call occurred However in January 2011 he produced evidence to back his claim. However Congress distanced itself from his view. Singh maintains that he had never said that Hindu terrorists were involved in killing Hemant Karkare.

Views on RSS

Singh has said that the right-wing extremism of the kind perpetrated by the RSS and SIMI represented a grave threat to national unity. He equated RSS to the Nazis stating that The RSS, in the garb of its nationalist ideology, is targeting Muslims the same way Nazis targeted Jews in the 1930s. Israel had taken grave exception to this comment. He accused the RSS of being involved in a number of terrorist strikes across the country. Further in the same speech, he demanded a CBI enquiry into the mysterious murder of Sunil Joshi, an RSS activist accused of being involved in the Ajmer Dargah attack, alleging that Joshi was murdered because "he knew too much".Digvijay’s contention was proved correct when NIA (National Investigation Agency) and states ATS found proof of right wing extremists being involved in 2006 Malegaon Blasts, Mecca Masjid Bombing (Hyderabad), Samjhauta Express Bomibings and Ajmer Sharif Dargah Blasts.Digvijay was proven correct about Sunil Joshi too as the investigations and the charge sheets filed in court are on the lines of what he has been stating publicly at various forums.

Stand on Batla House Encounter Case

Digvijay Singh suggested that the Batla House encounter case, which led to the death of two suspected terrorists and one police officer, was fake. However, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram dismissed Singh's claim as well as the demand for a judicial probe by saying that several probes had proved Batla House to be a genuine encounter and there was no scope for reopening the case. Congress Party to which Singh belongs also distance itself and rejected his views that the encounter was stage-managed. Congress spokesman said that Batla House encounter should not be politicized or raked up for political gains. Singh's continuous extreme stand on several issue invited criticism from several quarters including the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In Batla House encounter case the media came up with certain questions which remain unanswered. The two young boys gunned down in the Batla House encounter, widely perceived to be fake, were hit by "blunt force impact by object or surface", besides multiple gunshot wounds. This fact was revealed in the post-mortem reports of Atif Ameen, 24, and Mohd Sajid, 18, provided by the NHRC, consequent to a RTI filed by a dogged Jamia Millia Islamia student. People in the neighbourhood have some other story. They say the operation started in the wee hours of Thursday and around 10 the encounter took place. They deny that there was any crossfire. They also deny there was any announcement by the police.

Views on Religion and Religious Extremism

• Reacting to statements that he is anti-hindu, Singh has said in an interview that he was a better Hindu and followed Hinduism better than RSS.Digvijay Singh in his blog stated I am a practicing Hindu. I was given diksha by his holiness Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Dwarka and Joshi Math in 1983.I regularly pray every day for half an hour and have been doing this since 1969 when I was given Gayatri Mantra after I got my ' Yagyo Pavit Sansakar '. I have nine temples at my residence at Raghogarh in Guna District MP. Pooja is performed every day according to the traditions as prescribed by my religion. This has been going on for more than 14 generations in all the above temples.
• Digvijay Singh has claimed that as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh he was the first person to seek a ban on the now banned SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) and also the Bajrang Dal. Digvijay Singh has claimed that Hindu and Muslim Extremism feed each other.
• In the wake of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, Digvijay Singh stated that "Osama is a terrorist and deserves the treatment he got. But at the same time, the worst of criminals should be buried or cremated according to their faith."

Stand on Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev, and Arvind Kejriwal

Digvijay Singh was very critical about Anti-Corruption Movement of Social Activist Anna Hazare & Yog Guru Baba Ramdev ever since they started their agitation. He described Anna Hazare as a simple-minded villager, but spoke against other members of Team Anna like Arvind Kejriwal.

As events unfolded the points raised by Digvijay Singh turned out to be a bitter truth for Anna’s team and followers: The RSS Chief publicly stated that “Anna & RSS go back a long way” Further, a letter of support from RSS functionary Sunil Joshi came in the public domain. Even Anna’s own aide Ashok Sabban, who has been with Hazare for 20 years stating “IAC is 100 per cent a front of the RSS,”(3). Swami Agnivesh an erstwhile member of IAC accused Kejriwal of siphoning money during Anna’s fast. Now the situation is that Anna has disbanded his team He has also gone to the extent that he has prohibited Arvind Kejriwal from using his photograph or name in his new political venture

Singh had compared Kejriwal with Bollywood actress Rakhi Sawant on Twitter stating that "They both try and expose but with no substance". Sawant had later filed a police complaint against him and had file a defamation suit for ₹ 50 Crores.

Stand on Narendra Modi

• Digvijay Singh has asked Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to come clean on whether he is married or not in view of reports that Narendra Modi is married. He has also criticized Modi for calling Congress minister Shashi Tharoor's wife a '50 crore girlfriend'. Singh claimed that Modi's remark was not directed just at Tharoor's wife but was an attack on all women.

• Digvijay Singh has also accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of hiring Public Relations firms to boost Modi's image and spread false facts about Gujarat. Contrary to what Modi has been claiming, Gujarat has the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) in India and it is a state ridden with enormous debts according to Singh. Taking a jibe at Modi, Singh said, "I congratulate those who named Modi as 'Feku' (bragger). I am surprised how much he boasts about himself. Unlike his claims, it is Maharashtra which attracted the highest FDI and not Gujarat. The per capita income of people in Gujarat is not the highest and it does not attract any investment in agriculture." Digvijay also said that Gujarat is "ridden" with a huge debt, "but Modi claims that he will repay the debt of the Mother India."

Stand on Sushma Swaraj

Digvijay Singh has compared senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and has declared her fit to be Prime Minister. According to Digvijay: "In British Parliament, the Leader of Opposition is considered the shadow Prime Minister. If we go by that system, Sushma should be the shadow Prime Minister here also. But I was surprised when Sushma declared someone else as the contender of PM's post in Gujarat." Digvijay also said the BJP leader matches with the liberal and moderate face of Vajpayee and will be acceptable to other political parties also. "In BJP, a moderate face is seen in Vajpayee... In today's environment, if there is any person who will be acceptable to other parties, it will be Sushma ji. Because she does not have the RSS tag behind her and after Vajpayee, if there is any person with a moderate and liberal face, it is Sushma," Singh added. Downplaying Singh's praise, Sushma said the Congress leader has an old habit of creating disputes."Digvijay Singh has an old habit of creating disputes and the same thing he did here today. There are several ways of creating disputes and too much praise is one such way. Today he used the same method here," she said.

Stand on Arun Jaitley

Digvijay Singh has hit out at BJP leader Arun Jaitley for claiming that retired judges should not be given post-retirement jobs in government. According to Digvijay, Jaitley "conveniently forgets that as a law minister he himself made post retirement appointments of mediocre judges with known leanings towards BJP."

Thackeray Family Controversy

Digvijay Singh has pointed out that according to the autobiography of former Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's father, the Thackerays were originally from Bihar and migrated to Bhopal and later to Pune in search of employment opportunities. Raj Thackeray had threatened to brand all Biharis in Maharashtra as infiltrators, and according to Digvijay Raj should desist from making this claim since Raj himself belongs to Bihar.Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena had also made a demand for a permit system for all Biharis. Uddhav reacted to Digvijay's statement by calling him 'mad' and claiming he does not understand the context since he does not know Marathi. However, the book of Bal Thackeray's father Prabodhankar Thackeray was published when the BJP-Shiv Sena combine was in power in Maharashtra. As per Digvijay, page number 45 of the book has detailed the Thackeray family’s travel from Magadh in Bihar to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, then to Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, and then to Madhavgarh in Pune, Maharashtra. Digvijay has expressed surprise that the Thackerays are not believing what their own grandfather has written. .

References

1. ^ Member's Profile, 10th Lok Sabha
2. PTI, 1 Nov 2009, 01.43 pm IST (1 November 2009). "I had an offer to join Jana Sangh in 1970: Digvijay". The Times of India. India. Retrieved 13 June 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. Christophe Jaffrelot
4. PTI Feb 27, 2013, 08.54PM IST (27 February 2013). "Asha Singh, wife of Digvijay Singh, dies - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
5. "General Elections of MP 1977" (PDF). Election Commission of India. 2004.
6. "Digvijay Singh/Economic Times". Economictimes_dot_indiatimes_dot_com. 2012.
7. "Rediff On The NeT: Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh's proxy war". Rediff.com. 5 February 1998. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
8. "Shivraj Chouhan sings praises of rival Digvijay Singh". DNA. February 14 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. "Shivraj Singh Chouhan heaps praise on Digvijay". DNA. February 14 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. Gupta, Suchandana (14 April 2013). "Digvijay claims his policies initiated development in MP". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
11. The new State of Chhattisgarh is formed amid much suspense, and now Ajit Jogi, its first Chief Minister, has multiple challenges ahead - Frontline
12. Congress bleed at Chhattisgarh Birth - The Telegraph - October 31, 2011
13. Jogi govt faces instability - The Tribune - November 3, 2001
14. "Liquorgate?". Retrieved 19 March 2009.
15. "Digvijay hits back at Center". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 August 2001. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
16. "Digvijay fizzles in liquor scam". 20 October 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
17. Sudhir Singh, TNN Aug 28, 2001, 06.54pm IST (28 August 2001). "Digvijay clarifies stand in bribery case - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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20. "Digvijay Singh gets anticipatory bail, vows revenge against Nitin Gadkari". Indian Express. December 21 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. Lakshman, Narayan (11 December 2010). "Digvijay, Antulay statements showed "crass political opportunism": U.S." The Hindu. Chennai, India.
22. Karkare remarks land Digvijay Singh in trouble; case filed in Madhya Pradesh
23. Did Karkare call Digvijay? Maha govt says no records Indian Express – 16 December 2010
24. "Digvijay Gives Proof of Conversation With Karkare". news.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
26. Posted by: Anita (4 January 2011). "Digvijay comes clean;shows proof on Karkare calls - Oneindia News". News.oneindia.in. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
27. . NDTV. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2013. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
28. Israel protests comparison of RSS with Nazis – The Times of India
29. Cong plenary to seek probe into right-wing terror
30. Rajinder Nagarkoti, TNN Dec 21, 2010, 02.49pm IST. "Mecca Masjid blast accused also linked to Samjhauta train attack: NIA - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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32. "ATS finds another RSS link to Ajmer blast". Ibnlive.in.com. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
33. {{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/report/why-cracking-sunil-joshis-murder-case-is-critical-for-nia/20120117.htm |title=Why cracking Sunil Joshi's murder case is critical for NIA - Rediff.com India News |publisher=Rediff.com |date= |accessdate=20130320</ref<ref"Front Page : Sadhvi Pragyasingh arrested in Sunil Joshi murder case". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
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35. Pioneer – 3 June 2011
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38. 'Ramdev treatment' for Anna if he fasts: Digvijay - Rediff.com India News
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40. "Digvijay, MP Home Minister trade charges over banned SIMI". Economic Times. December 21 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
41. Congress wary of Digvijay's Osama statement Rediff – 3 May 2011
42. Indian Express, Agencies : New Delhi, Fri Apr 15 2011
43. FP Staff. "Anna and RSS links go back a long way: RSS Chief". Firstpost. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
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46. "'Kejriwal siphoned Rs.70-80 lakh during Anna Hazare's 12-day fast' | Causes | New Delhi". Theweekendleader.com. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
47. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/team-anna-disbanded-blogs-anna-hazare-creating-surprise-and-regret-251712
48. http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/anna-parts-ways-with-kejriwal-asks-not-to-use-his-name-photo_800572.html
49. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_digvijay-singh-attacked-my-noble-character-rakhi-sawant_1763750
50. "Why is Narendra Modi hiding his wife's name, asks Digvijay". Indian Express. November 1 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
51. "What is the missus called, Digvijaya Singh asks Narendra Modi". NDTV. November 1 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
52. ""I am Narendra Modi's Wife"". OPEN. April 11 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
53. "Modi hiring PR firms to boost his image: Digvijay Singh". Economic Times. April 18 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
54. "Modi hiring PR firms to boost his image: Digvijay". Indian Express. April 19 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
55. "Digvijay Singh compares Sushma Swaraj to Atal Behari Vajpayee, says she is fit to be PM". Indian Express. December 6 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
56. "Arun Jaitley's criticism of Justice Katju's appointment uncalled for". Times of India. February 18 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
57. "Book shows Raj Thackeray belongs to Bihar". Zee News. September 6 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
58. "Thackerays are from Bihar: Digvijay mad, says Uddhav". Zee News. September 6 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
59. "Uddhav Thackeray dares Digvijaya, calls him a 'mad dishwasher'". India Today. September 6 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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