Late Arjun Singh’s wife Saroj has moved the court, accusing her son Ajay Singh, a Congress leader, of ill-treating her.
Family feuds in political dynasties often make for a juicy Bollywood script. But in Bhopal, the ongoing intrigue in late Congress leader Arjun Singh’s family is all too real.
Earlier this week, Saroj Singh, 83-year old wife of Arjun Singh, moved a local court in Bhopal accusing her two sons Ajay and Abhimanyu of domestic abuse.
The allegations immediately cast a political shadow because son Ajay Singh is the leader of opposition in Madhya Pradesh assembly.
On his part, Ajay Singh blames his sister Veena of ‘playing politics’ and acting at the behest of the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh. Ajay claims the timing of his mother’s petition is politically motivated because he is in the process of filing a no-confidence motion against Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh assembly during the monsoon session, set to begin from 25 June. The state assembly polls are due in November 2018.
Of course, both the state unit of the BJP and chief minister Chouhan are taking a keen interest in the family feud.
Chouhan told local reporters that he had even offered some advice to Ajay Singh that went like this: “There is no bigger asset than a mother in this world. Mother is like God. She (Saroj Singh) is the wife of late Arjun Singh, a national leader, and is 83 years old. Will she do so at the behest of any government? This allegation is completely cheap”.
He then went on to tell the reporters: “How can Ajay Singh blame the government of doing something because of which his mother turned against him? This is the height of cheap behaviour (ghatiyapan)”.
BJP national vice-president Prabhat Jha also accused Ajay Singh of failing in his duties as a son.
In her petition, Saroj Singh has sought relief from the court alleging that she is not allowed to stay at “Kerwa Kothi” in the outskirts of Bhopal. She said her sons were not letting her enter the house.
“My sons Abhimanyu Singh and LoP Ajay Singh indulged in domestic violence against me and forced me out of my own house. They have also refused to take care of my maintenance which compelled me to approach the court,” the mother wrote in her complaint.
Saroj Singh or ‘Rani Sahiba’ is not a weak, ailing woman. She is a legendary figure in Madhya Pradesh, who is credited to have played a key role in her husband’s political career as he served as the state chief minister thrice, a governor, a union minister and an AICC vice-president.
The court has listed Saroj Singh’s petition for hearing on July 19.
Kerwa Kothi, overlooking a picturesque dam and also known as ‘DevShri’, has had its own share of controversies. A high court judge in 1989 had made a telling observation about Kerwa Kothi: “… Arjun Singh owes an explanation to the nation to show at what cost he has acquired and built his mansion at Kerwa Dam and from where and how he got funds for this”.
Kerwa Kothi is currently occupied by Ajay Singh. There are reports alleging that the property was transferred to his name when Arjun Singh was ailing in February 2011.
Ajay Singh and his sister Veena also have had a history of inner-family rivalry. The two have not been on talking terms for years. During the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, when Arjun Singh was still alive, she had contested as a rebel from the family turf Sidhi while Ajay had campaigned hard for the official Congress nominee there. Both candidates lost, and the Congress party blamed Arjun Singh for his failure to prevent his daughter from contesting. It was, many believe, one of the reasons why Arjun Singh was not made a minister when UPA, under Manmohan Singh, had returned to power in 2009.
The siblings had also fought bitterly over the rights of their father’s autobiography titled “A Grain of Sand in the Ocean of Time”. It was published shortly after the leader’s death in March 2011.
Rasheed Kidwai is an ORF fellow, author and journalist. The views expressed here are his own.