A week after he courted controversy by calling the state bureaucracy led by the chief secretary as ‘unbridled’ and expressed dismay at police transfers in Shivpuri district without his approval, Madhya Pradesh panchayat and rural development minister Mahendra Singh Sisodia on Saturday again took upon Shivpuri police, saying that illegal smack and sand trading was not possible without police protection.
Sisodia, a confidante of union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, is the in-charge minister of Shivpuri district, a part of Gwalior division.
Talking to media persons before attending a review meeting in Shivpuri, Sisodia said that the local people’s representatives have brought to his notice that two things – (illegal) smack and sand were prevalent in the district. “I will be conducting a very decisive meeting today. Whosoever is involved in this, there will be strict action on them. Also, I will instruct the police in this regard, because I feel that such work is not possible without police protection,” Sisodia said.
He added that in the meeting he would ensure that people were rid of the two diseases namely (illegal) smack and sand. He added that he had taken up the issue earlier too and things had been under control, but from the past 15 days, things are lackadaisical again.
Sources said that during the meeting, the minister asked officials to take action against those involved in illegal smack and sand trading or else be prepared themselves to face action. Sisodia reportedly said that he had already spoken to the chief minister on the issue.
Last week, Sisodia courted a big controversy after a letter he wrote to the Shivpuri district collector expressing dismay over police transfers without his approval and seeking action on the superintendent of police (SP) went viral. Later, in a statement to the media, the minister said that the entire bureaucracy led by the chief secretary had become unbridled.
After this, he was summoned by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Sisodia later said that the matter had been resolved and he had no complaints. State BJP chief Vishnu Dutt Sharma had also summoned Sisodia.
Congress had attacked the BJP over the matter, saying that such airing of grievances in public was result of the power tussle in the BJP, especially between Jyotiradiya Scindia and his aunt Yashodhara Raje, a state minister. Yashodhara Raje is an MLA from Shivpuri.
