Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has criticized the BJP-led state government and raised questions over a fire at Satpura Bhawan, in the state capital Bhopal. Nath said that corruption was at the root of the incident, and an independent agency should investigate what had happened. He was not convinced whether the fire had naturally occurred or had been set and said that it was a matter that ought to be looked into thoroughly.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang stated that the Congress Party only did politics on every issue, and that there was no corruption involved with the office where the fire broke out. He said the Tribal Area Development Programmes (TADP) office only handled central grant funds for the development of tribal areas, and the complete record was with the central government. Sarang added that an office of the health department only contained files of establishment that would be recreated in today’s digital age and therefore was no point in corruption allegations.
The Congress Party MLA Jitu Patwari also questioned the timing of the fire, writing on Twitter that it was generally assumed that the government set fires to destroy evidence before elections. Former Pradesh Congress Committee President (PCC) Chief Arun Yadav said in a tweet that the fire incident suggests a change in Madhya Pradesh.
The Satpura Bhawan fire in Bhopal occurred on June 13, destroying 12,000 files. It is not known how the fire originated, but allegations of corruption were immediately made by various parties. The government and police are investigating the incident.
