Even as police raided the official bungalow of Minister of State for General Administration, Lal Singh Arya in Bhopal on Wednesday, the case of the absconding minister is proving to be a major embarrassment for the BJP government. This is the second such incident after Irrigation and Public Relations Minister Narottam Mishra was debarred by the Election Commission in a “paid news” case. Mishra continues to be minister even though the Delhi High Court has not responded to his appeal against the EC's action.
State BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chouhan, defended Arya, saying, “He should go underground unless he gets bail from the High Court.” After Chouhan's brazen statement, the issue has turned into a major controversy, with the Congress mounting a serious attack. Yesterday, Mishra also defended the absconding minister saying that he agreed with the statement of the state BJP president.
A special judge in Bhind, Yogesh Kumar Gupta, issued an arrest warrant against Arya in a 2008 murder case, saying that he should be produced in the court. The police, after initial dithering, have launched a manhunt to apprehend the minister. Arya's official bungalow is now closed, with all his staff on leave.
Earlier, Arya had refused to respond to the warrant from local police in Bhind, who tried to serve it to the minister. The minister did not present himself before the court even after a bailable warrant of Rs 25,000 was issued against him few months back. With a minister accused of murder absconding, leader of opposition, Ajay Singh, has written to the prime minister, president and the Central leadership of the BJP, seeking details on the case from the state unit.
According to the BJP sources, the national general secretary, and state in-charge of BJP, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, has taken up the matter with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state BJP president Nandkumar Singh. The state BJP leadership, which was previously defending the minister, have gone on the back-foot now. It is likely that minister may be asked to resign in a day or two, sources said.
Meanwhile the absconding minister has moved the High Court, challenging the transfer of the case from a CBI court to a special court. The Gwalior bench of the High Court fixed December 18 as the date for hearing the application. Arya claims that he should be allowed to continue as minister until then. However if the court does not give him relief, he will have to tender his resignation.
The BJP is under pressure in the case as during such matters previously, the ministers who were served court warrants have resigned. Except the irrigation minister, who has been debarred by the Election Commission in a case of “paid news,” others during the last 14 years have resigned. The biggest such case was that of former chief minister Uma Bharti who resigned after a court in Hubli, Karnataka, issued a warrant against her. Bharti was accused of hoisting the tricolour at the Idgah Maidan in Hubli two decades back.
A court warrant was issued against Arya in May this year for the first time when a special plea of the family of the victim, Makhanlal Jatav, was entertained by a Bhind district court. Hearing the plea, the court ordered the inclusion of the name of the minister as one of the accused under Section 302 of IPC. The case was reopened after a previous accused was found murdered two years back after spending three years in jail.
Arya who is also MLA from Gohad Assembly constituency lost to Jatav, a Congress member, in the 2008 December Assembly polls. In April 2009, Jatav was killed while he was canvassing for a Congress candidate in the Lok Sabha polls. Later in a bypoll, Ranveer Jatav, son of Makhanlal Jatav, was elected.
In the 2013 Assembly election, Arya won from Gohad Assembly constituency by defeating Ranveer Jatav.
