Madhya Pradesh has become 'epicentre of corruption, loot' under BJP: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the BJP government of turning Madhya Pradesh into an "epicentre of corruption and loot", citing reports of an alleged Rs 1,200-crore ethanol-linked rice scam in the state.

Kharge also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence over the allegations and claimed that accountability in public life had been "trampled upon" under the BJP government.

"Madhya Pradesh has become the epicentre of corruption and loot and a synonym for corruption under the BJP government, where one scam after another surfaces," Kharge said in a post on X in Hindi.

The Congress president cited media reports alleging that subsidised rice supplied to approved ethanol plants was being diverted to private millers and recycled into government warehouses through the Public Distribution System (PDS).

The Madhya Pradesh government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the suspected multi-crore fortified rice diversion racket.

"Now, a Rs 1,200 crore rice scam in the name of ethanol has come to light. The very rice that was meant to be used for the nutrition of malnourished children, pregnant women and adolescent girls has been diverted in a game of profit," Kharge alleged.

He claimed that five lakh metric tonnes of rice had become part of the alleged "corrupt game" involving rice millers, an "ethanol mafia" and the BJP government.

"With the collusion of the BJP and the government machinery, the public's rightful grain is being looted," he said.

Kharge also referred to recent allegations surrounding land transactions in Madhya Pradesh, claiming that land expansion and purchases had taken place in areas where government infrastructure projects and a highway corridor were proposed in Ujjain.

"Before this, a massive land scam came to light. In Ujjain, land expansions happened in precisely those areas where government infrastructure projects and the highway corridor were proposed. This has raised question marks even over the chief minister himself," he said.

The Congress has recently raised allegations against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav over land purchases purportedly made in the names of his relatives.

"Everywhere, in every department, it is a game of loot and filling their own pockets — this is the story of the BJP's loot," Kharge alleged.

The Congress chief further invoked the Vyapam scandal and alleged cases of paper leaks and corruption to claim that irregularities had continued under successive BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh.

"This 'loot', which began with Vyapam, has not stopped even today, despite countless paper leaks and cases of corruption," he said.

"The BJP has turned Madhya Pradesh into a model of corruption and as always, Modiji just sits there in stoic silence," Kharge alleged.

Targeting Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he added: "The Modi-Shah duo has trampled the very concept of accountability in public life under the arrogance of power."

The BJP and the Madhya Pradesh government had not immediately responded to Kharge's latest allegations.