Political row erupts yet again over Madhavrao’s statue at Tikamgarh

By Praveen Dwivedi

Bhopal, Feb 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) A political controversy erupted yet again over a life-size statue of the Congress stalwart and late former Union Minister Madhavrao Scindia, installed on the premises of the Circuit House in Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, after the district administration issued a notification sanctioning Rs 24.85 lakh for the completion of the project.

The notification issued by Tikamgarh district administration also mentioned that the statue is proposed to be unveiled by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhavrao Scindia's son and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia later this month.

Talking to IANS, Tikamgarh Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha president Pushpendra Singh Chouhan said:
"We had questioned the legality of the statue when it was installed without any prior information to the local administration, and now tender process for the same project is coming up almost one year later. What is the meaning of issuing tenders when the statue has already been installed there. It means that installed statue was at an questionable stage and now paper works are being done to create an impression that all has been done following the government's direction."

"The money was sanctioned for establishing only a 'chabutara' (platform) under MLA funds within the premises of Circuit House. But, it turned out to be a statue of Madhavrao Scindia and within a fortnight, the proposal was passed. They (Scindia's supporters) installed the statue of their leader and also removed the photos of (Orchha) Tikamgarh's Bundela king Rudra Pratap Singh from the Circuit House, which was built by Maharaja Veer Singh Judeo," said Chouhan.

Terming it as an attempt to "destroy" Tikamgarh's history, localites said: "Madhavrao Scindia had no role in the development of the city. So the statues of local heroes should be installed."

The localites called it an attack on rich history of Orchha (Tikamgarh) as the historic Circuit House where late Scindia's statue has been installed, was established by Maharaja Veer Singh Judev (Bundela clan of Orchha).

Madhavrao Scindia's statue was installed in March, 2022 by a group of local BJP leaders, who are considered to be loyalists of his son Jyotiraditya Scindia.

A petition challenging the project was filed before the High Court earlier in October-November last year, however, the court was yet to give any date for hearing in the matter.

Political observers said that it is also a fight between Scindia House in Gwalior and veteran Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh from Raghogarh.

Tikamgarh, which falls under Gwalior-Chambal division, is located around 250 km from Gwalior and around 300 km from Raghogarh, home town of Digvijaya Singh. The Scindia family has a strong domination in politics of Gwalior and Guna, while Digvijaya Singh has strong control over politics of Tikamgarh and Raghogarh.

Locals said that the statue has been installed by some local BJP workers to prove loyalty towards Scindia family aiming to gain political virtue, however, political observers were of the view that all has happened on the directions from Scindia House in an attempt to "expand" its political region in Bundelkhand.

Though local Congress leaders have maintained silence on this issue, Digvijaya's son and Raghogarh MLA Jayvardhan Singh has been actively participating in political events in Tikamgarh.

Source: IANS