Rao's remark caused anger among the senior leaders. Though they did not publicly give expression to their resentment they feel that Rao had no business to talk in such a humiliating language, They were of the view that whatever they got was due to their hard work, due to their services rendered to the party. If the party gave opportunity to them to contest election it was largely because the party leadership felt we deserved it. It is learnt that the angry party men will approach the central leadership to complain against the high handed behaviour of Rao.

Besides senior party men there are some sections of the society who are angry with the BJP government of the state. One such section is that of the Tribals. Tribals constitute substantial population of the state. Two incidents concerning Tribals resulted into collective protest by them.

One such incident was the custodial death of a Tribal and another in which a Tribal was tied to a truck and was dragged to a long distance. In another incident Bisan Bhil, a Tribal, was among 12 people who were arrested for highway robbery in the Bistan police station area of Khargone district. He was bought dead to the district hospital from jail on the midnight of September 6, barely five hours after he was medically cleared by a government doctor for admission to prison.

The deceased was detained by police 3-4 days ago. "But the wound on this thighs and buttocks was at least seven days old. It had developed cellulitis and sepsis in deep muscles. Pus was found in his muscles when a deep incision was made during the post mortem," Dr.Divyesh Verma, civil surgeon told media.

He said there were no injury marks seen on the body during the autopsy which was performed by a panel of doctors. "Bacterial infection had spread to his vital organs. His liver was involved, his left ventricle was enlarged and emboli was found in his lungs," Said the civil surgeon.

His death had sparked a mob attack on the police station so violent that police had to fire in the air. The attackers allegedly tried to set Bistan police station on fire with a dozen besieged cops inside, but reinforcements arrived in the nick of time.

Former minister VijayalaxmiSadho submitted Congress party's' probe report on the custody death to PCC chief Kamal Nath.

Former chief ministerKamal Nath had constituted a five-member panel to probe the incident. Sadho was made the head of the probe committee, Speaking to the media at the PCC office, Sadho alleged "Bisen was summoned by the Bistan police station of August 31 for an investigation, The victim has no prior background of crime and no cases were registered against him. But when he reached the police station he was beaten mercilessly".

Congress demanded an impartial investigation into the case by CBI, a compensation package of Rs. 1 crore to the Bisen's family, which includes his five children, wife and parents. Sadho said that policemen responsible for his death should be charged with murder.

State Congress also announced that the party will pay a financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakh to deceased's family. The victim's son Mithun told the Congress probe team that he took food for his father, who was locked in the police station, but cops would not let Bisen eat.

"The son told us that his father was starving for four days. In front of him, the father was beaten with belts and pipes in four separate rooms of the police station, The village Sarpanch told us that police atrocities resulted in Bisen's death", Sadho said.

Besides Sadho leader of opposition kamal Nath also demanded independent probe.. He made this demand while addressing a protest rally of Tribals. He told the gathering.of Tribals in Barwani to protest the 'increasing atrocities against the tribal community in Madhya Pradesh: "You don't need to be afraid. Congress party is fighting for the benefit of tribal communities and we stand with you on every count".

Tribals are a crucial support base of Congress. In the 2018 assembly elections, Congress won 31 of 47 tribal reserved seats, which propelled it to power after 15 years. One of these seats, Jobat in Alirajpur, is due for by-polls.

Looking to the angry mood of Tribals and also several protest rallies, the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan decided to act tough. He ordered suspension of several Police personals besides ordering removal of Shailendra Singh, S. P,. of the district. CM. also announced that the government would also take responsibility of the deceased's family. Chouhan said the government would also punish those who killed Bhil (Kanhaiya) after dragging him with a pickup.

Simultaneously the BJP has initiated all out efforts to woo Tribals. As a part of such efforts the BJP has decided to hold massive show on September 18 at Jabalpur, The party has called this show as "Janjatiya Abhiyan". The show will also be observed in other cities.
(IPA Service)