BJP digs out more 145;dirt146;

The bhai-behen ki ladai in Madhya Pradesh is threatening to take on the shades of the Amarinder-Badal battle in Punjab with Uma Bharati once...

The bhai-behen ki ladai in Madhya Pradesh is threatening to take on the shades of the Amarinder-Badal battle in Punjab with Uma Bharati once again levelling charges of corruption against Digvijay Singh 8212; this time of bending government rules to favour his industrialist friend Subhash Gupta 8212;and the Chief Minister threatening to file a defamation suit soon.

At a press conference today, Uma released documents dating back to 2000 which she claimed showed that the Cabinet had granted special favours to Gupta in several cases. He had, she alleged, acquired government property worth several crores for just a few lakhs in Bhopal. In another case relating to change in land allotment rules in Dewas, she alleged Gupta acquired property valued at Rs 13 crore at Rs 2 crore.

nbsp;	Digvijay invites himself to patwa8217;s party, steals the show

		nbsp;	BHOPAL: A tea party thrown by former chief minister Sunder Lal Patwa on his birthday became the occasion for Digvijay to turn on his famous charm once again. Calling up Patwa, he invited himself over: 8216;8216;How can you leave me out?8217;8217; And in a made-for-TV event, he sat with Patwa and BJP organising general secretary Kaptan Singh Solanki accepting halwa offered to him as persons milling around joked that he needn8217;t worry, it wasn8217;t Hanumanji8217;s cake. Recalling how he had often said that by nature Patwa was a kshatriya, he added: 8216;8216;I was born a kshatriya but by nature I am a baniya.8217;8217; True or not, Digvijay certainly milked the occasion for all it was worth and left just in time to miss Uma8217;s arrival. ENS	nbsp;

Stopping short of alleging that the Chief Minister got a share in the benefit accrued to Gupta, Uma said all this shows the industrialist isn8217;t just a personal friend as Digvijay claims but also a 8216;8216;professional8217;8217; one.

8216;8216;He is my bada bhai elder brother. I am giving him every opportunity to defend himself. If he doesn8217;t do so then I will be forced to allege that he benefitted directly.8217;8217;

She also alleged that the entries in the passports of both Digvijay and Gupta matched, showing that the two went on several foreign trips together. She also released records of calls made from what she claimed was Gupta8217;s mobile number to the CM8217;s unlisted numbers at office and home, saying that this showed they had close links.

Digvijay reacted by releasing the itinerary of all those who accompanied him on his officials trips. Though Gupta8217;s name does not figure on the list, Uma8217;s charge was only that they were in the same country at the same time. What that proves is still not clear. Digvijay also said he would be slapping a defamation case against Uma within a few days.