New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were involved in illegal mining in the state, Congress leader Digvijay Singh said here on Friday, a day after a police officer was killed for allegedly taking on the mining mafia.
Digvijay Singh, offered his condolences to the family of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Narendra Kumar, who was killed on Thursday when a tractor-trolley, suspected to be laden with illegally-quarried stones, ran over him when he tried to stop it in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district.
Narendra Kumar, 32, was a sub-divisional police officer in Bamor.
"I covey my heartfelt grievance to the family of young IPS officer and his wife who is in last stage of pregnancy … my heart goes out to her. She was the circle officer in my district, where I have been MP. She incurred the wrath of BJP MLA and was transferred out of Rajgarh district," Digvijay Singh, a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, told reporters here.
He said illegal mining was rampant in Madhya Pradesh and, starting from the chief minister down to the BJP cadres, all were involved.
"Morena is known for its sand and stone quarries. Why had this not been auctioned… this needs to be inquired into. I have requested the chief minister to set up a judicial inquiry for my and his tenure and we should go into leases granted under my and Shivraj Singh's tenure," he said.
"There is ample evidence to prove that the chief minister's family is involved in the illegal mining. We have got proof that number of people including BJP MLAs, MPs and influential people are involved in mining activity in open connivance of BJP leadership," he said.
Digvijay Singh said the state government was losing massive revenue as these quarries were not being auctioned and leased.
Lashing out at state Home Minister Uma Shanker Gupta for his statement that Narendra Kumar's death was an accident, he said: "I profoundly condemn the inhumane statement of the home minister calling it an accident and not a deliberate murder."
Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav also called for strict action against the culprits involved in the killing.
"I have raised the issue of illegal mining in the state before. Both BJP and Congress leaders are looting the natural resources in the state. The Madhya Pradesh government should take immediate and strict action against the culprits," he said.
IANS
First Published: Friday, March 09, 2012, 12:41