Great significance is being attached to the highly controversial utterances of Kailash Vijayvargiya who was a powerful minister in the state. He was shifted to the centre and has been made general secretary of the party. Vijayvargiya still retains his membership of the state Assembly. So for some days, he has been complaining against the role and behaviour of state officers. He claims that bureaucracy is running amuck in the state. Officers treat people's representatives with contempt. They do not reply to the telephone calls of the MPs and MLA.s He alleges that there is no control over bureaucracy.

This allegation is regarded as a direct attack on the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. He also claims that given opportunity, he will show how officers can be controlled. By making such a comment, Vijayvargiya indicates that the present leader (Chauhan) lacks competence to handle bureaucracy. Besides making such statement, Vijayvargiya has also entered in a wordy feud with Nandkumar Chauhan, president of the state unit of Bhartiya Janata Party. Chauhan referring to Vijayvargiya's remarks said after Vijayvargiya shifted to New Delhi, his perception about Madhya Pradesh affairs has been considerably reduced. Responding to Chauhan's remarks, Vijayvargiya said that he knows his limitation but he has every right to talk about affairs of his own state. A well-known Vijayvargiya supporter said that he (Vijayvargiya) has vast experience of administration. He began his administrative career as the Mayor of Indore. He also held several key departments as minister for more than 10 years.

Besides controversial exchanges between Vijayvargiya and state president, several other leaders are also washing their dirty linens publicly. The clashes between MPs and MLAs have touched a new low. At the district level, the BJP organizational leaders and the elected representatives are fighting. This is resulting in disruption of the activities of the state government. The BJP state president and general secretary are trying their best but the situation has gone out of control and no faction is listening to the leadership.

The statement of minister Gopal Bhargava regarding the condition of the party is rooted in his rivalry with Damoh MP Prahlad Patel. Patel is continuously interfering in local affairs in Rehil, which is in Bhargava's constituency. The battle between them took an ugly turn when their supporters had to approach the police station over an issue. Bhargava has also informed chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and party organisation about the terror unleashed by Patel in his constituency. Bhargava’s statement only reflects his frustration over not being heard.

As far as Indore is concerned, Ramesh Mendola, who has the backing of Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mayor Malini Gaud are at loggerheads. The followers of Vijayvargiya and district officials are not on good terms. The followers of Vijayavargiya want Indore SSP Santosh Singh transferred. Vijayavargiya has now started attacking the bureaucracy. In Bhopal, Alok Sanjar, MP, Mayor Alok Sharma and the two ministers Umashankar Gupta and Vishwas Sarang, are engaged in factional battle.

Sarang and Rameshwar Sharma are not allowing the MP and mayor to hold programmes in their constituencies without their consent. Chief Minister is aware of the intense rivalry between these leaders but he has been unable to broker peace between them. In Gwalior, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, Jaibhan Singh Pavaiya and Narottam Mishra do not enjoy a good rapport. They even avoid sharing stage. Followers of minister Maya Singh and Pavaiya are engaged in a bitter battle. In Khandwa and Burhanpur, the old political rivalry between Nandkumar and Minister Archana Chitnis has further intensified with Chitnis becoming a minister. The clashes between BJP leaders have created a peculiar situation for the officers. They do not know whom to listen to.

A unique example of unruly behaviour by one MLA came into light when Surendra Singh who represents one of the Bhopal constituencies lost his temper when ‘Gumtis’ in his constituency were forcibly removed by the corporation staff. His reaction was violent. He along with hundreds of his followers reached the spot where ejected Gumtis were kept and forcibly took them away and place them where they were earlier kept. He physically attacked the corporation staff and some members of police. But no action had been taken against him even the FIR has not been recorded. Reports of such unruly behaviour by the leaders of ruling party reach Bhopal almost every day.

Besides these political controversies, the BJP government found itself in dock when reports of tragic deaths of several children reached Bhopal.Sheopur is the district with the highest rate of malnutrition in the state, according to national Family Health Survey released earlier this year. Principle secretaries of health, and women and child development departments went to the district but allegedly limited their visit to Sesaipura and Upri Khori villages where only six cases of malnutrition were found. Sources had said the officials did not visit Golipura, where 10 children died and Nichli Khori, where three children died and Baroda block, where 4 children died. Child health care activist Rolly Shivahare said, “This shows the seriousness of government towards a major problem of malnutrition which is claiming lives every day.” In 2005, the Supreme Court had taken cognisance over malnutrition deaths in Patalgarh and has asked for strengthening public distribution system and anganwadis to ensure mothers and children get proper food and care. A team of right to food campaign’s Madhya Pradesh group has in 2006 found highlighted the lack of basic facilities for the mothers and children in the affected areas. “Despite knowing the problem for long time, government failed to come up with planning which can eradicate the problem totally,” said Shivahare.

Looking to the seriousness of the situation state Health Minister Rustam Singh himself visited the villages where malnutrition deaths took place. He met the bereaved families made in-depth enquiry and reached to the conclusion that children died due to lack of nutrition. He pulled up the health dept. officials who tried mislead the minister by claiming that the lack of nutrition was not the main cause of deaths.

Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia wrote to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi to express his concern on malnutrition deaths in Sheopur district. In a letter to the chief minister, the Guna MP urged him to pay attention to the district, where 19 children have died in two months. (IPA Service)