LoP Umang Singhar alleges tribal families are paying the price for friction within the BJP government.

Sehore/Bhopal, October 12: A demolition drive against tribal homes in Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore district has turned into a political flashpoint. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan publicly confronted officials of his own party’s state government. Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar alleged that poor tribal families were bearing the consequences of internal friction within the BJP.

Chouhan, a four-time Madhya Pradesh chief minister, visited Kosmi village in the Budhni area on Sunday and sat with the affected families. Reports say about 12 homes of the Barela tribal community were demolished. The families also allege that their crops were destroyed and that a well they used was filled with soil.

“Their votes made Mohan ji the CM”

Visibly angry, Chouhan said the families were the same people whose votes help the BJP win. He said it was because of them that Mohan Yadav became Chief Minister. He asked why voters who had backed the party in both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were being treated this way.

He described the scene in strong terms. Homes that had echoed with children’s laughter until the morning, he said, were now filled with weeping, and women were grieving openly. Calling the officials responsible “narpishach” (cruel, demonic persons), he said the limits of injustice had been crossed in his own constituency and that those responsible would not be spared.

Chouhan said he had earlier asked the administration not to displace families who had lived on the land for years, and that the forest department and district administration had attempted similar action a few months ago. He said he would raise the matter with Chief Minister Yadav. He has also spoken to Chief Secretary Ashok Barnwal and state BJP president Hemant Khandelwal. He promised new homes, food and temporary shelter for the families until a lasting solution is found.

Chouhan also suggested that the action could be an attempt by some officials to tarnish the image of the BJP and the Chief Minister. He did not offer evidence for this. He stopped short of directly criticising Yadav.

Singhar: “Tribals uprooted amid the tussle”

The Congress was quick to seize on the episode. Sharing a video of the demolition on X, Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar alleged that tribal families were being uprooted amid a tussle between “Mohan-Mama”, a reference to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Chouhan, who is popularly known as “Mama”. He said crops of Barela families were being destroyed in Kosmi village and their houses pulled down.

“Because of the infighting within the BJP government, poor tribal families face the threat of being rendered homeless,” Singhar alleged.

Forest land dispute at the centre

Forest authorities have reportedly defended the operation as an effort to clear illegal huts on forest land, following damage to a government plantation. The legality of the occupation, whether residents were given notice, and the circumstances of the demolition and crop destruction remain contested.

Kosmi lies in the Budhni area, Chouhan’s former Assembly seat, and falls within his Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency. That has added weight to his intervention.

What happens next

A senior Union minister openly challenging an administrative action by his own party’s government has put the Mohan Yadav administration under pressure. The key questions now are whether the state government will review the operation, provide rehabilitation and compensation to the displaced families, and fix responsibility if lapses are found. The Chief Minister’s response is awaited.

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