MP collector row: Congress seeks apology from BJP

Bhopal, Jan 21: Amid a row surrounding Rajgarh district collector, the ruling Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday asked the BJP to apologise to the woman bureaucrat and her deputy for its members "misbehaving" with them while they were discharging their duty on Sunday.

The controversy erupted after the district collector Nidhi Nivedita and additional collector Priya Verma had taken on some protesters on Sunday for allegedly 'misbehaving' with them while trying to take out a pro-CAA rally by defying prohibitory orders in Biaora town in Rajgarh district.

In video clips of this incident, Nivedita can be purportedly seen slapping a man and Verma taking on some men who were part of the crowd.

While the BJP has been demanding registration of an FIR against both the officials, the Congress on Tuesday broke its silence on the issue.

"Rather, the BJP should lodge an FIR against its own leaders who violated the prohibitive orders and misbehaved with the women officials. They should seek apology from these officials for hitting them and pulling their hair," said state Congress spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi.

Meanwhile, BJP media in-charge Lokendra Parashar said a party delegation will lodge an FIR in Rajgarh on Wednesday. "A BJP delegation comprising ex-chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, state unit president Rakesh Singh and Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava will visit Rajgarh on Wednesday to file the FIR," he said.

Referring to the Biaora incident, Parashar alleged that both the officials had beaten up and dragged the citizens who were protesting peacefully and holding the national flag.
Nivedita had denied slapping a man, who was part of the crowd on Sunday. "I reacted only when he abused me," she had said.

Additional Collector Verma had also said that some men from the crowd misbehaved with herself and the collector.

Meanwhile, Biaora Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Ramesh Pandey was shunted out on Monday night for his alleged inaction during the Sunday incident, a district official said on Tuesday. He has been replaced with Sandip Ashthana.

A case was already filed against 124 people for defying Sunday's prohibitory order under section 188 of IPC (disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant).

The Kamal Nath government had opposed the CAA which provides granting citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who had migrated to India before December 31, 2014.