MP Official Suspended Over ‘Ghanta’ Row Reference In Indore Water Contamination Govt Order
A sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district was suspended on Sunday after allegedly incorporating political content, including references to a Congress memorandum and a controversial remark by state minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, into an official government order amid the Indore water contamination crisis.
According to the administration, the suspension was ordered by Ujjain Division Revenue Commissioner Ashish Singh, who found the officer guilty of serious negligence, indifference and procedural irregularities in the discharge of official duties.
The action followed scrutiny of an order issued by the SDM on Saturday that directed the deployment of subordinate revenue staff to maintain law and order in connection with a Congress protest planned in Dewas on Sunday.
Officials said the problem lay not with the decision to deploy staff but with the language used in the order.
A senior official told news agency PTI that a portion of the Congress memorandum submitted ahead of the protest was reproduced verbatim in the SDM’s official directive.
The inclusion of political allegations and charged language from a party document in an administrative order was viewed as a serious lapse and a violation of expected neutrality in official communication.
The Congress memorandum in question had sharply criticised the BJP-led state government over the contamination of drinking water in parts of Indore, which has led to multiple deaths due to a diarrhoea outbreak.
It also targeted Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya for using the word “ghanta" while responding to a television journalist’s question on the crisis.
The Congress described the remark as reflecting “inhumanity and authoritarianism".
The memorandum further stated that, on the instructions of state Congress president Jitu Patwari, party workers would organise “ghanta" protests across Madhya Pradesh.
As part of the protest, Congress workers planned to ring bells outside the residences of BJP Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly to register their opposition to what they described as insensitive behaviour by The protest was organised in the backdrop of deaths linked to contaminated drinking water in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area.
The controversy intensified after Vijayvargiya’s on-camera remark on the night of December 31, when he used the term “ghanta" in response to a question about the water contamination crisis.minister.
The protest was organised in the backdrop of deaths linked to contaminated drinking water in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area.
The controversy intensified after Vijayvargiya’s on-camera remark on the night of December 31, when he used the term “ghanta" in response to a question about the water contamination crisis.
In common usage, the term is widely understood to mean “nonsense", and the remark triggered criticism and political backlash.
Meanwhile, the toll from the diarrhoea outbreak has been a matter of contention. The district administration has officially confirmed six deaths so far as being caused by contaminated drinking water.
However, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav said on January 2 that he had information suggesting that 10 people had died in connection with the outbreak.
Local residents, for their part, have claimed that the number of deaths is even higher, alleging that 16 people, including a six-month-old infant, have lost their lives.
