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Digvijaya Singh (born 28 February 1947) is an Indian politician, a former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress political party. Before being elected as a Chief Minister he had served as a minister in the Cabinet of Arjun Singh, the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh during 1980–84. He became the President of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in the year 1985. He served as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for two consecutive five-year terms. He first became Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on 7 December 1993 and continued to hold the office till Congress was voted out of the power in November 2003. He is the current General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee.

Early life

Singh was born in the then princely state of Raghogarh and has a Rajput background. He was educated at Daly College in Indore and the Shri Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science, where he completed a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering in 1968.

Personal life

He was married to Asha Singh and has four daughters and a son. His wife Asha Singh succumbed to cancer on 27 February 2013, aged 58.

Political career

Singh first became president of the Raghogarh municipal committee when he was 22. He joined the Congress party in 1971 and became a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) as the party's representative for the Raghogarh Vidhan Sabha constituency in the 1977 elections. He was later re-elected from the same constituency and became a Minister of State and later a Cabinet Minister in the Madhya Pradesh state government led by Arjun Singh between 1980–84. He was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1984 and again in 1991 from Rajgarh Lok Sabha constituency and became the President of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in 1985. In 1993, he became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. He won the by-election from Chachhoda constituency as he could not contest from the Raghogarh constituency which was vacated for him by his brother Laxman Singh who won the seat in 1993 assembly elections because Laxman Singh's election to assembly was challenged by a candidate through a petition. Returning to the Raghogarh constituency for the 1998 elections, he was re-elected for a second term as chief minister. He won the constituency again in 2003 but his party overall was defeated by the BJP and has since been in opposition in the state. He did not contest any elections after then (as of 2013) as he had declared before the 2003 elections that he would not contest any polls for another 10 years if Congress lost the elections. He has clarified that he shall not be contesting the 2013 Legislative Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh however shall contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections if Congress allows him to do so.

Debates, disputes, and controversies

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Chhattisgarh separation

After the formation of Chhattisgarh in 2001, Singh played a major role in the selection of Ajit Jogi as the Chief Minister for the state. While Singh managed to convince the majority of Congress Legislator Party members to back Ajit Jogi, the absence of Vidya Charan Shukla and his supporters at the meeting raised questions about the exercise of seeking consensus as Shukla was the other top contender for the post. Subsequently, Singh met with Shukla in order to allay concerns and in doing so he was physically attacked by a group of alleged Shukla supporters whom Shukla later denounced.

Corruption allegations and counter-allegations

• In 2001, during an income tax raid on a liquor manufacturer in Bhopal, income tax authorities seized a diary maintained by the distillery's owners. They found the names of several officials and politicians of the state and their bribe money written against their names in the diary which reportedly also listed Singh's name with a payment of 100 million rupees against it. Singh was the chief minister at the time. Singh said that this was a conspiracy by Bharatiya Janata Party and National Democratic Alliance to destabilize his government. Singh on his own had written to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 28 August 2001 requesting for a CBI probe or by any other central agency he deemed appropriate. In his letter to Vajpayee, Singh had said that he greatly valued probity in public life and would like his own to be transparent and accountable. He added that his personal property records had also been regularly tabled in the state assembly. He also attached a copy of the property records for 2000 along with the letter to the Prime Minister.
• In October, 2012, Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered Central Bureau of Investigation to probe allegations related to the Treasure Island, Indore scam against him and others. According to one source, the court asked the CBI to probe "roles of senior officials, the then chief minister, and Chief Secretary, and environment minister".
• In December 2012 Digvijay Singh was granted anticipatory bail in a criminal defamation suit filed by then BJP president Nitin Gadkari. Singh had accused Gadkari of having business links with his party Member of Parliament Ajay Sancheti and indulging in corruption. Digvijay said he stood by his views and would do more research to substantiate his claims about Gadkari. Gadkari, in his statement recorded in the court, had denied having any business ties with Sancheti and had accused Singh of leveling "totally false and defamatory" allegations against him to "give the impression that I have been responsible for allocation of the coal mines" to Sancheti.
• On May 20, 2013, Digvijay Singh demanded a high level probe into the alleged Salt scam involving Madhya Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation.

Hemant Karkare case

In December 2010, Singh gave several interviews in the Media claiming that Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare called him hours before he was killed, talking to him about threats to his (Karkare's) life from Hindu extremist groups. A petition was filed in a local court against him, alleging that his remarks in connection with the slain Karkare were an attempt to whip up communal frenzy. However the Maharashtra government was unable to find any evidence that such a call occurred However in January 2011 he produced evidence that he claimed corroborated his story, a claim disputed by rival politicians. However Congress distanced itself from his view. Singh maintains that he had never said that Hindu extremists were involved in killing Hemant Karkare.

Batla House Encounter Controversy

Singh suggested that the Batla House encounter case, which led to the death of two suspected terrorists and one police officer, was fake. However, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram dismissed Singh's claim as well as the demand for a judicial probe by saying that several probes had proved Batla House to be a genuine encounter and there was no scope for reopening the case. Congress Party also distanced itself and rejected his views that the encounter was stage-managed stating that Batla House encounter should not be politicized or raked up for political gains. Singh's continuous extreme stand on several issue invited criticism from several quarters including the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Views on Religion and Religious Extremism

• Reacting to statements that he is anti-Hindu, Singh has said in an interview that he was a better Hindu and followed Hinduism better than RSS. Digvijay Singh in his blog stated I am a practicing Hindu. I was given diksha by his holiness Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Dwarka and Joshi Math in 1983.I regularly pray every day for half an hour and have been doing this since 1969 when I was given Gayatri Mantra after I got my ' Yagyo Pavit Sansakar '. I have nine temples at my residence at Raghogarh in Guna District MP. Pooja is performed every day according to the traditions as prescribed by my religion. This has been going on for more than 14 generations in all the above temples.
• Digvijay Singh has claimed that as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh he was the first person to seek a ban on the now banned SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) and also the Bajrang Dal. Digvijay Singh has claimed that Hindu and Muslim Extremism feed each other.
• In the wake of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, Digvijay Singh stated that "Osama is a terrorist and deserves the treatment he got. But at the same time, the worst of criminals should be buried or cremated according to their faith."

References

1. ^ Member's Profile, 10th Lok Sabha
2. PTI, 1 Nov 2009, 01.43 pm IST (1 November 2009). "I had an offer to join Jana Sangh in 1970: Digvijay". The Times of India. India. Retrieved 13 June 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. "Office Bearers". Congress Working Committee (CWC). Retrieved 29 April 2013.
4. Christophe Jaffrelot
5. PTI Feb 27, 2013, 08.54PM IST (27 February 2013). "Asha Singh, wife of Digvijay Singh, dies - Times Of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
6. "General Elections of MP 1977" (PDF). Election Commission of India. 2004.
7. "Digvijay Singh/Economic Times". Economictimes_dot_indiatimes_dot_com. 2012.
8. "Rediff On The NeT: Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh's proxy war". Rediff.com. 5 February 1998. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
9. "Digvijay Singh may contest 2014 Lok Sabha polls if 'party allows'". Economic Times. 4 November 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
10. The new State of Chhattisgarh is formed amid much suspense, and now Ajit Jogi, its first Chief Minister, has multiple challenges ahead - Frontline
11. Congress bleed at Chhattisgarh Birth - The Telegraph - October 31, 2011
12. Jogi govt faces instability - The Tribune - November 3, 2001
13. "Liquorgate?". Retrieved 19 March 2009.
14. "Digvijay hits back at Center". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 August 2001. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
15. "Digvijay fizzles in liquor scam". 20 October 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
16. Sudhir Singh, TNN Aug 28, 2001, 06.54pm IST (28 August 2001). "Digvijay clarifies stand in bribery case - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
17. "Probe Digvijay Singh scam: HC to CBI". Indian Express. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
18. "Digvijay Singh gets anticipatory bail, vows revenge against Nitin Gadkari". Indian Express. 21 December 2012.
19. "Digvijay Singh demands probe in MP salt scam". Economic Times. 20 May 2013.
20. Lakshman, Narayan (11 December 2010). "Digvijay, Antulay statements showed "crass political opportunism": U.S." The Hindu. Chennai, India.
21. Karkare remarks land Digvijay Singh in trouble; case filed in Madhya Pradesh
22. Did Karkare call Digvijay? Maha govt says no records Indian Express – 16 December 2010
23. "Digvijay Gives Proof of Conversation With Karkare". news.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
24. Posted by: Anita (4 January 2011). "Digvijay comes clean;shows proof on Karkare calls - Oneindia News". News.oneindia.in. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
25. "JP for Scrutiny of Karkare Call Records Given by Digvijay". Outlook India. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
26. "Never said Hindu terrorists involved in killing Hemant Karkare: Digvijaya Singh". NDTV. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
27. Pioneer – 3 June 2011
28. After government, Congress too ticks off Digvijaya Singh on Batla House encounter Times of India - Jan 14, 2012
29. 'Ramdev treatment' for Anna if he fasts: Digvijay - Rediff.com India News
30. Digvijaya Singh. "Hindutva by Digvijaya Singh's Blog : Digvijaya Singh's blog-The Times Of India". Blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
31. "Digvijay, MP Home Minister trade charges over banned SIMI". Economic Times. 21 December 2012.
32. Congress wary of Digvijay's Osama statement Rediff – 3 May 2011

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