Bhopal/Vidisha, April 23 (IANS) The Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of protecting land mafias allegedly involved in encroaching on land belonging to a lift irrigation project in Vidisha district, and demanded immediate action against those responsible.

Addressing a press conference at the party office in Bhopal, senior Congress spokesperson Anand Jat has alleged a strong nexus between local land mafias and BJP leaders, claiming it has led to large-scale illegal occupation of government land meant for irrigation purposes.

Citing official records and ground reports, Jat said the land had been acquired by the State Water Resources Department after compensating farmers for the project, which was discontinued in 1999.

He alleged that the land has since been encroached upon by influential individuals and diverted for private use.

“A situation of ‘one city, two laws’ prevails in Vidisha, which makes the blood of common people boil,” Jat said, alleging selective enforcement of rules.

The Congress spokesperson also noted that the canal network has been levelled and converted into residential and commercial establishments.

He alleged that houses, luxury bungalows, commercial colonies and even petrol pumps have been constructed on the land.

He also criticised the district administration, accusing it of failing to act despite repeated communication from the Water Resources Department.

“The Collector is only engaged in exchanging letters, while there is no concrete action on the ground,” Jat said.

He added that several communications by senior state government officials since 2020 have not yielded any results.

Further attacking the BJP-led state government, Jat said, “The BJP does not prepare a Master Plan, it prepares a ‘Mafia Plan’. Encroaching on government land is their real Master Plan.”

Referring to the previous Congress-led state government (2018–2020), he said efforts were initiated in 2020 to reclaim the encroached land, but the process stalled after the government collapsed.

“Since then, the mafias have become active again,” the Congress spokesperson alleged.

Meanwhile, targeting former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, now a Lok Sabha MP from Vidisha, Jat claimed such networks expanded during his tenure.

“If you examine it closely, such networks grew during that period — because ‘Mama (Shivraj Singh Chouhan) himself is the mafia’,” the Congress spokesperson said.

The Congress has demanded demolition of illegal constructions on the land and registration of criminal cases against those involved, warning of protests if prompt action is not taken.

–IANS

pd/khz