Opposition Accuses BJP of Targetting Its Own CMs Over Land Allegations
Opposition parties have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating a campaign to discredit and replace three of its chief ministers, following allegations of large-scale land acquisitions by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's family.
The allegations stem from a report by The Indian Express, which stated that since December 2023, Chief Minister Yadav's family and his real estate firms had acquired at least 137 plots spanning 168 acres in Ujjain for Rs 45 crore. The report claimed that many of these plots were in areas that benefited from road projects and land-use changes announced by the state government.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, speaking in Lucknow on Tuesday, alleged that these accusations were part of a BJP plot to remove Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. "If those are the allegations against Mohan Yadav, the UP Chief Minister has bought 300-600 acres of land," Akhilesh said, without providing evidence for his claim. He added that the land purchases by Mohan Yadav's family were not new, as the Chief Minister had been in real estate before assuming office. "Wasn't BJP aware that he was into real estate business? You know why these allegations are being levelled at this stage? This is because BJP is looking for ways to replace 3 CMs," he said.
The Congress party also attacked the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a Hindi post on X, accused the BJP's "double-engine government" in Madhya Pradesh of running an "engine of plunder" at full speed. He claimed that Chief Minister Mohan Yadav was at the helm of alleged "looting." Ramesh also pointed to speculation that Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, had orchestrated the planting of stories against the current Chief Minister. "The infighting appears to be over seat of power and a share in spoils," Ramesh said.
Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal questioned why central investigative agencies had not acted against Mohan Yadav. "PM Modi, why have ED-CBI not knocked on doors of MP CM Mohan Yadav? Is a 253-acre mega land scam not grounds enough to chase him and punish him for his crimes?" Venugopal asked. He alleged that the BJP uses investigative agencies to hound opposition politicians and settle political scores, but goes silent when its own functionaries are accused of corruption.
As of now, no formal investigation has been announced regarding the land acquisitions. The Chief Minister's office has not responded to the allegations. The developments come amid political maneuvering ahead of upcoming state elections, with Akhilesh Yadav predicting that the Samajwadi Party's "bicycle" would race past rivals in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
