Why is the face of fake ration card scam now the ruling party treasurer?

The custodian of Chhattisgarh’s subsidised ration got a general card for himself and three BPL cards for his daughters-in-law. Until yesterday, he was the face of the scandal. Now, he is the BJP’s state treasurer.

The man, who could not secure the poor’s grain, now has an apparently lucrative job of managing his party’s funds.  If that’s the message the new party president Amit Shah wants to communicate, that should worry many.

The scandal persists in public memory and government note sheets. Singh still grapples with the financial implications of doling out Rs 1 per kg rice to these ineligible cardholders as his top officers suggest him ways to control the loss of over Rs 2000 crore.

Bhojwani’s elevation suggests that Narendra Modi’s party probably has a different standard of probity for smaller states that lie relatively away from the popular discourse.

Chhattisgarh Assembly speaker and veteran BJP leader Gaurishankar Agarwal is another such man. He has illegally constructed a temple and shops on acres of prime land in capital Raipur. The case hit the monsoon Assembly session, when CM Singh admitted to the encroachment but defended his man. The Central leadership conveniently overlooked the matter.

Bhojwani, incidentally, belongs to Singh’s home constituency of Rajnandgaon and has worked as the chief minister’s representative in the district. If his reward reflects his proximity to the CM, the party and the government stand seriously questioned.