MP: Ex-Cong MLA held for 'objectionable' remarks on Yadav community

Gwalior, May 13 (IANS) Senior Congress leader and former MLA, Gopal Singh Chouhan aka Daggi Raja, was arrested in connection with an alleged objectionable remark he made on the Yadav community.

Three-time former MLA, Chouhan (65), who is considered a prominent Congress leader in the Gwalior-Chambal region, was arrested from his residence in Ashok Nagar district, according to police. He was arrested on the basis of an FIR registered by a local BJP leader against Chouhan, alleging that the Congress leader used derogatory remarks against the Yadav community.

FIR was registered at the Chanderi police station on Monday.

Recently, addressing a programme organised by the Lodhi community in Chanderi, Chouhan allegedly said that "meri ek-ek goli se 6-6 Yadav marege. (My one gunshot will kill six Yadavs)."

People from the Yadav community strongly objected to Chouhan's statement, and an FIR was registered. The second FIR was registered on Monday, following which, the Ashok Nagar district police swung into action and arrested Chouhan.

Notably, some of the districts of the Gwalior-Chambal region -- Ashok Nagar, Gwalior, and some others -- have a sizable population of the Yadav community. Also, conflicts between people from the Yadav community and Lodhi and Gurjar communities are common in these areas.

"A complaint was received against Gopal Singh Chouhan at Chanderi police station on Monday. The complainant also submitted a video, wherein, Congress leader (Chouhan) was heard using objectionable words against the Yadav community. He has been arrested and will be produced in the court," Ashok Nagar’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Puneet Jain, said.

Chouhan is considered close to former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh. He has won three elections -- 2003, 2013 and 2018 from the Chanderi Assembly seat of Ashok Nagar.

In March 2020, when almost all Congress MLAs from the Gwalior-Chambal region had shifted to the BJP to extend their support to Jyotiraditya Scindia (now Union Minister), Chouhan remained intact with Congress and re-established the party in the region.

--IANS

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