Political Slugfest In MP Over Collapse Of Saptarishi Idols In Ujjain

With the Assembly elections just 6 months away, the collapse of Saptarishi idols, installed at the Mahakal Lok corridor in Ujjain, due to gusty winds has taken political colours in Madhya Pradesh with the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress trading charges against each other.

Spread across around 1 km, the corridor is developed on the premises of famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain. Unfortunately, six out seven of Saptarishi (seven sages) idols of around 10-feet tall were badly damaged and fell down as strong winds swept through the area on Sunday evening.

However, nobody was injured in the incident despite the presence of a large number of visitors. The facility was shut for a few hours immediately after the incident that occurred around 4 pm and was reopened at 7 am. The gusty winds, however, claimed the life two persons elsewhere in Ujjain.

Congress has obviously seized the opportunity and launched a war of words on social media against the Shivraj Singh government in the State pushing BJP into a defensive position. Taking to Twitter, State Congress chief Kamal Nath said, "The sub-standard construction should be probed and the people involved in it should be punished."

Making a scathing attack on the ruling dispensation, his predecessor Arun Yadav said, "The BJP government is not even sparing gods. This incident at the Mahakal Lok corridor smacks of corruption." Another party leader Digvijay Singh tweeted, "There is no such scheme in which BJP has not done corruption."

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered an inquiry into the incident. "I am getting the matter inquired and have sought a report," Chouhan told reporters on Monday on the sidelines of an event to mark nine years of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

Meanwhile, Kamal Nath has constituted his own seven-member inquiry committee, including five sitting MLAs from the State, to look into the incident. Right from the inception of the project, both the Congress and BJP has been feuding over taking credit for the project.

While CM Chouhan credited his government for conceptualising the project in 2017 at a cost of Rs 95 crore, Kamal Nath said it was in August 2019 that his government drew the sketch of the Mahakal Temple and allocated Rs 300 crore for it. Just a week after it was inaugurated, Ujjain's Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar approached the MP Lokayukta alleging financial irregularities in the construction, following which notices were issued to 15 officials.

MP Home Minister Narrotam Mishra said, "Congress is now only left at Twitter and TV... they never help out, did you see Kamal Nath go to even one place during the Covid era? Were Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh seen distributing ration, medicines? The loss caused was due to a natural calamity and will be compensated by the concerned agency."

Beautifully designed, the corridor -- one of the longest in the country -- has around 108 aesthetically ornate pillars made of intricately-carved sandstones that depict the Anand Tandav Swaroop (a form of dance of Lord Shiva), 200 statues and murals of Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the first phase of the Mahakal Lok corridor project in October last year. The total cost of the project is Rs 856 crore with the first phase costing Rs 351 crore. Companies from Gujarat have been engaged in the work of creating the idols and constructing the corridor.