MP Congress general secretary Nidhi Chaturvedi targets Digvijaya Singh:Says ‘attachment to son’ is weakening Congress, seeks action

Congress infighting over allegations that nearly ₹500 crore worth of land in Ujjain was allotted to Veer Bharat Nyas for Re 1 has now come out in the open. After allegations by Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh addressed a press conference in Ujjain. Following Digvijaya Singh’s rejection of Patwari’s claims, Congress state general secretary Nidhi Satyavrat Chaturvedi launched a sharp attack, even demanding disciplinary action against the senior leader. She posted a lengthy message on Facebook criticising his stand. Nidhi Chaturvedi, daughter of former MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi, titled her post “Digvijaya’s stranglehold, an attack on Congress.” She said whether Patwari’s allegations in the Ujjain land case were right or wrong could be examined through an inquiry, but publicly holding the state Congress president accountable through a press conference did not suit a senior leader. She said that if Jitu Patwari had made any mistake, Digvijaya Singh could have conveyed his concerns over the phone, in person or through internal party forums. Instead, travelling to Ujjain to publicly reject the state president’s statement and using inappropriate language against him amounted to a violation of party discipline. Sarang says Congress should take note if its own leaders are making such allegations Commenting on the infighting within Congress, Madhya Pradesh Sports Minister Vishvas Sarang said Congress leaders themselves were calling Digvijaya Singh a “sleeper cell”. He alleged that Congress was misleading the public and that factionalism and internal discord had now fully surfaced. Reacting to Nidhi Chaturvedi’s remarks, Sarang said if a Congress leader was making such allegations, the party should take them seriously. ‘Step taken in son’s affection’ Nidhi Chaturvedi alleged that Digvijaya Singh’s conduct was the result of “attachment towards his son”. She claimed that in his ambition to make his son, Jaivardhan Singh, the state Congress president, Digvijaya Singh had forgotten party discipline. ‘Giving oxygen to BJP’ In her post, she said that while Rahul Gandhi and Congress workers were fighting the ideology of the BJP and RSS, a senior leader publicly weakening his own state president only benefited the opposition politically. She described it as a blow to the self-respect of party workers. Mention from 2020 to Rajya Sabha elections Nidhi also claimed that personal ambitions and internal power struggles had led to the fall of the Congress government in 2020, defeats in the 2023 and 2024 elections, and losses in the recent Rajya Sabha elections. She alleged that such politics was continuously weakening the organisation. Demand for Action from High Command At the end of her post, Nidhi demanded immediate disciplinary action against Digvijaya Singh from the Congress leadership. She said the high command must intervene to protect the party’s credibility and the morale of its workers. What is the controversy? State Congress president Jitu Patwari had alleged during a press conference in Delhi that government land worth nearly ₹500 crore in Ujjain had been allotted to Veer Bharat Nyas for just Re 1. Digvijaya Singh later held a press conference in Ujjain, distancing himself from Patwari’s allegations and saying that based on the available documents, claims of irregularities in the land allotment did not appear to be correct. His stand exposed differences within the Congress, which have now deepened further following Nidhi Chaturvedi’s post. Earlier attack over RSS remarks Nidhi Chaturvedi had earlier criticised Digvijaya Singh over his remarks related to the RSS and sought disciplinary action against him. She had alleged that his comments weakened the party’s ideological battle and demoralised grassroots workers. She wrote that Digvijaya Singh’s recent statement had been “a slap in the face” of Rahul Gandhi and all Congress workers fighting the ideology of the RSS and BJP on the streets.