Digvijay Singh

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Digvijay Singh is a senior Congress (I) politician in India and has been the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh state for two five-year terms. He was born on February 28, 1947 in the royal family of Raghogarh principality, in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. He first became Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on December 7, 1993 and continued to hold the post till Congress was voted out of power in the November 2003 State Assembly elections in the state. He is popularly known as Diggi Raja.

1 Academic life
2 Political career
3 Controversies
4 Timeline
5 See also
6 References

[edit] Academic life

He is a product of the Daly college, Indore, a public school established in 1882 . During his school days he was an outstanding sportsman. He was member of the school team in cricket, hockey and soccer. He was an excellent wicket keeper and opening batsman. He also was the national squash champion, the youngest to ever win it. He is an engineering graduate from SGSITS in Indore. He is also a St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni.

[edit] Political career

He joined politics at the age of 24. He became the President of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in the year 1984. In 1977, he was elected Member of State Legislative Assembly. He became a Minister of State and later a Cabinet Minister under the MP Government headed by Arjun Singh in 1980-84. He was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1984 and 1991. He has been representing his hometown and constituency (Raghogarh) for many years in the State Assembly elections. However, the man known as "Diggy Raja" to his admirers as well as to his foes, was humiliated badly in the Madhya Pradesh State Assembly Election in December 2003, wherein the Congress was reduced to a strength of 37 members in a house of 230. The BJP captured power with a landslide mandate, securing a mammoth 173 seats. Interestingly, Digvijay Singh had vowed publicly and repeatedly not to go for any elections for 10 years if he did not win the December 2004 elections. However, he keep his words. Ever since his career has taken different dimensions. He has been responsible for forging successful alliances and winning elections for the party as the general secretary of the congress in Assam and Maharastra. Only low was in Bihar state assembly elections in 2005. He was appointed the Bihar in charge for the Congress in the November 2005 elections and claimed credit for forging a better alliance with Laloo Yadav than in the Feb 2005 elections. However, all his gambits backfired as the Congress was decimated in the elections, its strength falling to 8 (from 9) in a 243 member assembly. The election also marked a dramatic end to Laloo Yadav, one of India's most enigmatic and rustic politicians.

[edit] Controversies

In year 2001 Income tax authorities seized a diary from a liquor baron. They found the names of several officials and politicians of the state and money written against their names in the diary. There was one entry with just CM against the amount .It was not known and not found out of what state the CM the diary entry referred to. Digvijay Singh was chief minister then. [1]

In 2001 he appointed A. N. Singh as the Director-General of the State Police . A. N. Singh's name had figured prominently in the tell-tale diaries seized in a raid by the income tax authorities some months ago. When those diaries first made headlines, Singh was the additional DGP (Intelligence).[2]

A Jhabua court issued a warrant against Digvijay Singh and 14 others for alleged remarks on the 1998 Jhabua nuns rape case accusing Hindu organisations of being involved in the inicdent, following a civil defamation suit filed by a local lawyer. A Bhopal court later cancelled the warrant after he appeared in person and furnished a surety bond for Rs. 5,000. [3]