Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari has been on the offensive against the state government for a while now, but one of his recent allegations has landed him in legal trouble. Trying to corner Chief Minister Mohan Yadav over a land allotment in Ujjain, Patwari had claimed that land worth Rs 500 crore was handed over to Veer Bharat Nyas for just Rs 1. In response, the trust's secretary Shriram Tiwari has sent Patwari a legal notice seeking Rs 5 crore in damages for defamation.
Congress has been out of power in Madhya Pradesh for a long stretch, barring a roughly one and a half year stint under Kamal Nath's leadership, before the party suffered a heavy defeat in the state in 2023. Since then, Congress has been trying every opportunity to corner the government and stage a comeback, and the Ujjain land issue is being seen as part of that broader push.
Trust calls the allegations baseless
Senior advocate Harish Mehta and advocate Gunjan Chaukse, representing Veer Bharat Nyas trustee secretary Shriram Tiwari, held a joint press conference in Bhopal to lay out the trust's position. Both lawyers said Veer Bharat Nyas is entirely a government trust, and the allegations Jitu Patwari made at his press conference in Delhi do not match the facts. They clarified that the land was allotted by the state government to the Culture Department specifically to build the Veer Bharat Sangrahalay in Ujjain. In other words, the land was not allotted to any private individual or entity, it remains fully under the Culture Department, and the allotment carries formal cabinet approval.
The Chief Minister is the ex officio chairman
Advocate Gunjan Chaukse also took direct aim at the Congress leadership, saying Jitu Patwari is trying to plant a false narrative among the public. He said levelling such serious allegations without gathering solid information or verifying the facts is outright irresponsible. Chaukse further explained that the trust was set up in 2013, and as per the rules, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh serves as its ex officio chairman, regardless of which party is in power.
Why was Patwari silent when Congress was in power?
The advocates also put Congress on the spot with a pointed question: when Congress was in power in the state, the ex officio chairman of the very same trust was the Congress Chief Minister of that time. Back then, Congress found no scam or irregularity in the trust's functioning, but now, out of power, it is levelling baseless allegations for political gain.
No apology, then strict action
The advocates made it clear that a legal notice seeking Rs 5 crore in defamation damages has already been sent to Jitu Patwari. If he does not publicly apologise for his allegations, strict legal action will be taken against him. It remains to be seen how the Congress chief responds to the notice.
