With the state assembly elections coming up, political parties are actively seeking voter support. BJP and Congress are both raising issues that concern voters, including disputes with government officials. One such incident unfolded in Bhadana village in Neemuch district, where BJP MLA Mandhav Maroo got involved in a heated argument with forest department officials and employees. They had come to evacuate villagers from the land that belongs to the forest department, according to them.
The MLA did not stop here and even contacted the district collector to express his concerns about the situation escalating and impacting law and order. The entire incident, which involved chaos and unruly scenes, was captured on video, which went viral on social media.
MLA Maroo stated that he would defend the interests of the villagers and implied that he had the courage to carry weapons for this purpose. Meanwhile, some Congress leaders arrived at the village when they learned about the incident and assured villagers that they would bring it to the attention of former Chief Minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath.
The origins of the conflict stem from the displacement of some Gandhi Sagar villagers, who settled in Bhadana village in the Manasa development block. They have claimed that they have lived on the land for a long time, and the forest department is trying to take it away from them.
On Sunday evening, around 100 forest department officers and employees arrived in Bhadana village to resolve this issue. MLA Maroo also arrived at the scene and was involved in an argument with the forest department officer, who became furious. The MLA called senior officials and ministers of the forest department, including the district collector.
During the argument, the MLA accused the forest department of grabbing land that belongs to villagers. He lashed out at the present officer, sub- divisional forest officer RR Parmar, and other officers and employees. As a result, the forest department left the scene empty-handed.
When the video footage of the incident went viral on social media, MLA Maroo explained that he was merely trying to have a discussion with the forest department. He believed that the forest department had not provided relevant information and had taken the wrong action.
Congress leader Mangesh Sanghai defended his actions stating that the forest department was taking action without demarcation of revenue department land and that it should not be within the purview of the MLA. He stated that if they had not taken action, the villagers would have been evicted from their land and they would not allow injustice to be done to them.
The incident has raised serious concerns about politicians promoting violence to further their agendas, and the public and the forest department have taken note. It is crucial that politicians address such issues in a peaceful and lawful manner and work towards resolving disputes without causing any harm to the public.
