Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar has once again stirred a political storm with his sharp and controversial remarks, this time targeting the Chhindwara Collector, the top district official.
Accusing the officer of acting as an agent of the ruling BJP, Mr Singhar went to the extent of saying, "The Collector is so timid that he has become a slave of the BJP. If he is their slave, then he should wear the underwear of BJP and RSS."
The statement, made on Thursday during the swearing-in of Dhar's new Congress District President Swatantra Joshi, has triggered outrage in political circles.
Standing before party workers, Mr Singhar thundered that bureaucrats are supposed to serve the people, not act like servants of a political party. He later doubled down on his words by sharing a video clip of the remarks on social media platform X.
This controversy follows an earlier episode in Chhindwara on August 20, when Congress leaders, including Mr Singhar, state Congress chief Jeetu Patwari, and former MP Nakul Nath, staged a protest against fertilizer shortage.
Stopped from entering the Collectorate, the leaders demanded the Collector come out to receive their memorandum. When the officer did not appear, Mr Singhar tied the memorandum around the neck of a dog, sarcastically declaring it the "Collector of Chhindwara".
The act drew both laughter and criticism, and has since snowballed into a fierce political flashpoint.
Continuing his attack, Mr Singhar told Congress workers, "If officers start doing party politics, we will remind them that Ram naam satya bhi hota hai (death is inevitable). Why should they be scared? Congress will return to power, and then those who acted like BJP's henchmen will face the consequences."
The BJP has hit back at Mr Singhar's rhetoric.
Senior BJP MLA Bhagwandas Sabnani condemned the remarks, saying, "If the Collector is working impartially, Congress has a habit of intimidating him. This is unacceptable in a democracy. You cannot insult an officer like this. If you have proof, bring it. But abusing officials is Congress's old habit."
While Mr Singhar's comments have energised Congress cadres, political observers say such abrasive attacks could backfire, shifting the spotlight from governance failures to Congress's own methods of protest.
What is certain, however, is that Umang Singhar's "dog memorandum" stunt and "RSS underwear" remark have ensured Chhindwara's fertilizer crisis is no longer just about farmers, it is now at the center of Madhya Pradesh's escalating political war of words.
