MP CM backs IAS officer, says Jairam Ramesh acted unilaterally

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said that Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh acted in a "one-sided" manner in recent controversy involving Ratlam collector and Congress MPs.

"It's a matter of regret and pain that serious politician like you have endorsed the indecent behaviour like this," Chouhan wrote in a letter to Ramesh, official sources said today.

Ramesh had written a letter to the State Government seeking action against Ratlam collector Rajiv Dube regarding his conduct related to a meeting called by a group of Congress MPs to review progress of Centre-sponsored welfare schemes.

Dube and Congress state president and MP Kantilal Bhuria and Ujjain MP Premchand Guddu allegedly sparred at the meeting held at Ratlam collectorate in first week of this month.

The Union Minister also wrote that it was not only the violation of Rural Development Ministry's guideline but also is a matter of privilege of MPs. However, Chouhan has also attached the unedited CD of the fracas that took place between Dube and the MPs in the Ratlam Collectorate and urged the Minister to have a look into it before arriving at any conclusion.

"After watching the CD you must think whether such kind of behaviour by MPs need to be protected through any privilege," Chouhan asked. Bhuria and Guddu allegedly "scolded" Dube in the presence of officials and media for allegedly not providing the agenda of the meeting to evaluate progress of implementation of the Centrally-sponsored schemes and also for arriving late at the meeting.

Chouhan also sought to know that whether it was necessary to issue guidelines to check such kind of behaviour. As far as action taken by the state government is concerned, the government is totally committed to follow the rule of law and to protect its decorum, he said.