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Bhopal: The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh may be on the brink of collapse but it is not going down lightly. Throughout the week-long political crisis, which culminated with senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia joining the BJP Wednesday, and 22 Congress MLA quitting the party, the Kamal Nath-led government has scripted a massive crackdown on opposition lawmakers.

The 15-month-old Congress government appears to be in a tearing hurry to punish BJP MLAs who it believes were involved in poaching of its legislators.

From withdrawal of security to a former minister, raids, hurting business interests to interrogation of an MLA’s brother, the Kamal Nath government has targeted a number of prominent BJP MLAs in the state.

Also read: ‘A raja without power’ — Gwalior stands with Scindia, feels he’s right to quit Congress

State’s richest MLA in the dock

Among the BJP legislators under the Congress government’s scanner is Sanjay Pathak, the MLA of Vijayraghavgarh in the state’s Katni district.

Pathak, once of the Congress, is considered the state’s richest MLA. According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the MP Election Watch, Pathak’s net worth is Rs 141 crore, and much of it comes from his mining business.

On 4 March, two days after the Congress MLAs were shipped to Bengaluru precipitating the crisis, the state served him with a notice to stop excavation work at one of his iron ore mines.

A Jabalpur district administration official told ThePrint that the excavation at the mine, owned by M/S Nirmala Minerals, which belongs to Pathak, was being stopped according to a Supreme Court order.

Pathak’s mines are spread across Katni and Jabalpur districts.

Then, on 7 March, Umariya district authorities razed a portion of Syna Resort, near the Bandhavgarh National Park, which belongs to Pathak. The administration claimed that the resort allegedly stands on illegal forest land and hence violates laws.

Pathak, who defected to the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, is defiant and termed the Congress government’s recent actions as being politically motivated.

“They closed our family business and snatched jobs of 1,200 workers, razed the resort and tried to kidnap me,” he told the media in Bhopal. “I am not scared; I will not bow down my head.”

Also read: Congress is failing in its historic duty, and also standing in the way of defeating BJP

Raids, notices & removal of security

Like Pathak, former minister and BJP MLA Narottam Mishra, considered to be the number 2 in the previous Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, was greeted by a team of the state’s Economic Offence Wing (EOW) on 6 March.

The team raided Mishra’s house in Dabra town of Gwalior district, due to his alleged involvement in taking a few Congress MLAs to a resort in Haryana, all of whom returned to the state on 5 March.

Unfazed by the action, Mishra told the media that there was no need to raid his house in any case. “I am ready with a marriage band, and I will reach any office I am called to,” he told the media in Bhopal.

The Congress government has also gone after former home minister and BJP MLA Bhupendra Singh. He received a notice on 4 March, in a case related to encroachment of government land in Sagar district.

Reacting sharply, Singh accused the Kamal Nath government of pursuing vendetta politics.

“The Congress party has wrongly dragged my name into the alleged MLA poaching row,” Singh said, adding that he had nothing to do with the land for which he has been served a notice.

The Kamal Nath government also removed the security cover of former minister and BJP MLA Vishwas Sarang on 5 March while a police team raided the house of BJP MLA Arvind Bhadoriya in Bhind district on the grounds that he was also involved in poaching Congress MLAs.

The team interrogated his brother, Devendra, about the legislator’s whereabouts.

Also read: Those asking if BJP will suit Jyotiraditya Scindia are barking up the wrong tree. This is why

BJP reaches out to Governor

Upset by the Kamal Nath government’s crackdown, the BJP has knocked on the doors of the Raj Bhawan. A delegation led by Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava complained to Governor Lalji Tandon of retaliatory and partisan action and submitted a memorandum on 6 March.

In the memorandum, the party has claimed that the government was misusing official machinery to harass its MLAs.

The Congress, meanwhile, denies the charges of political vendetta.

Senior Digvijaya Singh said the action on Pathak was because he “lost his way”.

“Sanjay Pathak’s father was the Congress president of Jabalpur district when I was the state president. He is my friend’s son,” said Digvijaya Singh, adding that Sanjay Pathak earned a lot of money and “lost his way”.

Another veteran Congress leader Manak Agrawal insisted that the crackdown on opposition leaders is not politically motivated but he did admit that the timing was not right.

Also read: Jyotiraditya Scindia — Congress loyalist & friend of Gandhis, until he felt betrayed by them

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