MP minister follows ex-Deputy CM aunt, takes on Digvijaya Singh

At 45, Singhar is 27 years junior to Singh but when he launched a no-holds-barred attack on the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, he was echoing his late aunt Jamuna Devi, with whom he travelled a lot as a young politician.

Umang Singhar

When the Leader of Opposition compares a minister with a lion and lauds him for his plain-speaking, most would take it with a pinch of salt. But Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava’s praise for state Forest Minister Umang Singhar did not appear to be a backhanded compliment, as even the BJP has never used such strong language against senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who the minister called a blackmailer.

At 45, Singhar is 27 years junior to Singh but when he launched a no-holds-barred attack on the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, he was echoing his late aunt Jamuna Devi, with whom he travelled a lot as a young politician. A tribal leader, Devi was deputy chief minister in Singh’s second tenure as CM and had once said, “Main Digvijaya Singh ke tandoor mein jal rahi hu (I am burning in Digvijaya Singh’s tandoor).”

She remained Singh’s adversary within the Congress till her death in 2010.

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The son of a civil judge, Singhar’s first political victory came in 2008 when he was elected an MLA from Gandhwani (ST) constituency and retained it in 2013 and 2018.

Read | MP minister to Sonia Gandhi: Digvijaya trying to destabilise Kamal Nath govt

The first indication that Singhar carried rancour against the senior leader was when he objected to Singh’s presence at an informal Cabinet meeting early this year. However, what proved to be the flashpoint for a showdown was Singh’s public criticism of the Kamal Nath government for giving a “clean chit” to the previous Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in the Mandsaur firing case and an alleged scam in planting saplings along the Narmada. Singh had singled out replies given in the Assembly by Home Minister Bala Bacchan and Forest Minister Singhar, arguing that the Congress fought the elections on both these issues.

While Bachhan, who is said to belong to the Kamal Nath camp, had a tough time claiming that his reply did not amount to a clean chit, Singhar wrote an open letter and stated that he was pained since the senior leader did not bother to read his reply in full, as he had already ordered a physical verification of the saplings. He said Singh spared his son Jaivardhan Singh, who holds the Urban Development and Housing portfolio and had also given a clean chit to the former BJP government in the alleged Simhastha Kumbh scam.

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Singhar, who is seen as leaning towards Jyotiraditya Scindia, tries to project himself as independent of any camp in the state Congress and close to Rahul Gandhi. A Congress leader said Singhar always talks straight and does not shy away from taking on seniors. He contradicts Singh’s position at every opportunity, this leader said.

When Singh wrote to all ministers, seeking audience with them to know the status of transfers and other works he had recommended between January and August 15, Singhar was the only minister to question the exercise. PWD Minister Sajjan Singh Varma came close to questioning the idea but his criticism was muted.

Singhar accused Singh of running the government by proxy before calling him a blackmailer and accusing him of promoting illegal sand mining and liquor business.

While the senior Singh has avoided taking on Singhar, Jaivardhan said his father has not done anything illegal in his 40-year-long political career.

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Umang Singhar