Balram Jakhar

Bhopal, Dec. 13: Madhya Pradesh governor Balram Jakhar and the ruling BJP are headed for a showdown over a minister whom Raj Bhavan wants out.

Public works minister Kailash Vijayvargiya fell foul of Jakhar first in connection with an old pension scandal and more recently by claiming he could make damaging revelations against the governor.

The Congress fished in troubled waters today by demonstrating against the minister, prompting the BJP to publicly accuse Raj Bhavan of becoming a hub of Congress politics.

“It is unfortunate that the Congress is politicising and belittling the office of the governor. The governor, too, should maintain the dignity and decorum of his office,” state BJP chief and minister N.S. Tomar said.

Sources revealed that senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj has sought a meeting with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to complain against Jakhar.

Vijayvargiya had said: “If I disclose the work the governor had recommended to me, it will create a political storm.”

“It is bizarre that a tainted minister is casting aspersions on a constitutional authority,” Congress spokesman Manak Aggarwal said. “The chief minister should immediately sack him.”

Sources close to the governor said he would insist on the minister’s removal when chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan returns from his tour of Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

The problems began with Jakhar asking Chauhan to take up a pension scam in Indore at the state cabinet meeting. When Chauhan ignored the request, Jakhar criticised the government in public.

The scandal dates back to 1998-2004 when Vijayvargiya was Indore mayor. The mayor-in-council had allegedly distributed social security pension to ineligible people through cooperative banks.

The matter is pending with an Indore court.