Chauhan: Wheel trouble

Bhopal, Aug. 17: Shivraj Singh Chauhan spent a “sleepless night” after it was disclosed that his wife, Sadhna, owned four vehicles and used them for commercial purposes in a privately owned cement factory.

The Madhya Pradesh chief minister said he did not know what was happening in his household. He said the vehicles had been sold off and “everything has been put in order”.

BJP national president Rajnath Singh had been informed, Chauhan added.

The Congress and the breakaway Bhartiya Janshakti Party quickly swung into action, demanding Chauhan’s resignation.

Uma Bharti’s close associate and former Union minister Prahlad Patel said “our worst fears have come true”. He accused the Chauhan government of trying a cover-up.

“The details of sale of these vehicles were removed from the official transport department website. The owner’s husband’s name was mentioned as a non-descriptive S.R. Singh. There seems to be mala fide intentions all around,” he said.

Patel said he had written to the chief minister last month, seeking his response on the purchase of the four vehicles. “But there was no response in spite of repeated reminders.”

The Madhya Pradesh leader of the Opposition, Jamuna Devi, echoed him.

Senior BJP ministers sounded sheepish while defending Chauhan. “He kept thinking of putting his records straight but somehow never got time to do it,” a minister said today.

Most ministers vouched for Chauhan’s integrity, saying he could have opted for more lucrative and discreet avenues. “I have known him from my student days and I think he is an honest and genuine person,” power minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said.

Chauhan, too, asserted there were no irregularities, saying his family had long been in the transport business. But, wiser after the latest episode, he said he would pull out from all “commercial activities”.

Jamuna Devi said she would write to the income-tax department to probe the matter further. “Why has she (Sadhna Singh) given the address of Rewa, some 600km from Bhopal, instead of the official address or home town Vidisha?” she asked.

Although Chauhan’s integrity has not been questioned in Madhya Pradesh political circles, there have been frequent whispers about his close relatives indulging in financial deals.

The chief minister’s secretariat has stoutly denied them, saying Chauhan had virtually “disowned” some close relatives who allegedly tried to misuse his name and position.

“It is difficult to be honest and straightforward these days,” rued an official in Vallabh Bhavan that houses the state secretariat.