Amid Bihar Row Over Ex-MP's Release, A U-Turn In BJP-Ruled Madhya Pradesh

Criminal cases against a BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh have been scrapped after a nod from the state home department last week. The change in the stance of the law ministry comes amid the political furore in Bihar over the release of Anand Mohan Singh, convicted for killing Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah in 1994.

The state government's move to tweak rules that enabled his release has been severely criticised by the BJP.

Former MLA Raghuraj Singh Kansana was accused in a string of cases. In 2012, he was charged with serious offences such as dacoity, attempted murder and kidnapping in Morena.

In 2018, Kansana was elected as an MLA for the Congress. Shortly after, the Kamal Nath government attempted to have the cases against him dismissed, but the law department refused, claiming that the charges were too serious to be dropped.

In 2019, CBI carried out searches at the Kasana's residence in Morena in connection with a bank fraud case in which his nephew is an accused.

Rebelling against the Congress with Jyotiraditya Scindia in 2020, Kansana joined the BJP. He even contested a by-election, but lost. Even so, he got the status of cabinet minister as the BJP made him chairman, Backward Classes and the Minorities Welfare Department.  

Last week, the Additional Chief Secretary for the Home department forwarded a proposal to the Home Minister which said, "Case is submitted for proper order for consideration of departmental consent for withdrawal". The next day, on April 19, the minister decided to drop the criminal prosecution against Raghuraj Singh Kansana. NDTV is in possession of all the documents.

Asked about this, Home Minister Narottam Mishra said, "When a report comes from the legal department of the district or local administration then such cases are withdrawn".

KK Mishra, a spokesperson for the Congress, claimed the note written by the Home Minister who is in charge of controlling crime is sufficient to expose the law-and-order situation.

"If such statements are made about serious types of crimes for political reasons in the future, even the dream of establishing the rule of law will become challenging. The law should be followed strictly and there should be no political interference," he said.