BJP MLA calls Bhind Collector a 'thief' after officer says he won't allow 'sand to be stolen' (Lead)

Bhind, Aug 27 (IANS) Senior BJP MLA Narendra Singh Kushwaha and Bhind District Collector Sanjeev Srivastava exchanged a heated argument during a protest against the "lack" of adequate fertiliser and alleged "irregularities" in its distribution.

In a video that went viral on social media, Kushwaha raised his hand as if to confront the collector, while farmers in the background can be seen shouting slogans in protest, highlighting their anger over the ongoing fertiliser shortage.

In the footage, Collector Sanjeev Srivastava could be seen and heard saying, "Mai ret chori nahi hone dunga, (I won't allow sand to be stolen). It made BJP MLA Kushwaha furious, who can be clearly heard shouting and saying, "Sabse bada chor tu khud hai. (You are the biggest thief).

However, security personnel intervened immediately to prevent escalation.

Meanwhile, some other senior officials, including Bhind SP Asit Yadav, ASP Sanjeev Pathak, and ADM L.K. Pandey, rushed to the scene to calm the situation.

According to information, this ugly episode unfolded when a BJP MLA staged a sit-in outside the collector’s residence, accusing the administration of ignoring farmers’ problems.

Kushwaha, accompanied by his large number of supporters and local farmers, reached the Bhind District Collector's office and staged a protest.

However, the collector refused to meet the agitators inside his residence, which made the MLA angry.

In another video, a BJP MLA raised his concerns on the "unavailability" of fertiliser at a time when sowing of kharif crops is at its peak.

"Women and senior citizens would come and queue up for long hours, but at the end of the day, they would return with empty hands," Kushwaha said.

In sequence to his argument with the district collector, the BJP MLA also said, "A farmer who owns one acre of land would get one packet of fertiliser, and another one having 100 acres of land would also get only one packet. What kind of system is it?"

In the past few weeks, members of the opposition Congress, including ex-Chief Ministers Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh and senior MLA Ajay Singh and LoP in the state Assembly, Umang Singhar, have raised the issue of fertiliser shortage.

--IANS

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