Sartaj Singh was dropped as PWD minister from Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet in 2016
Former union minister for health, five-time MP and sitting BJP legislator from Madhya Pradesh's Seoni-Malwa, Sartaj Singh has alleged that some officials at the state secretariat demanded bribe to reimburse his medical expenses.
Talking to NDTV, Sartaj Singh said, "I will blame the system, which has become corrupt. My assistant recently went to Vallabh Bhawan (the secretariat) to get my medical bills reimbursed. He rang me up saying the officials there were demanding commission. I asked him to throw the file and come back."
"If this is the situation of an MLA, what would be the plight of common people. It is the government's responsibility to improve this system," he added.
Mr Singh was treated for congestion and cough deposition in chest at National Hospital in Bhopal in February for a week.
The opposition Congress has described his statement as a failure of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's government. The party has also demanded an investigation.
Spokesperson for Congress Deepti Singh said, "What has happened to 'na khaaonga, na khaane doonga'. We want immediate investigation. Chief Minister should order a probe and the guilty should be punished."
The BJP, meanwhile, attacked the veteran leader from their party.
Dr Hitesh Bajpai, party spokesperson, said, "The responsibility of the people's representative is to go ahead and save the public on issues of corruption, otherwise it's just politics. Is he so weak? As an MLA they have so many privileges, he can raise the issue in Vidhan Sabha also, why he kept silent?"
78-year-old Sartaj Singh, two-time sitting MLA from Seoni-Malwa, was dropped as PWD minister, along with home minister Babulal Gaur from the Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet in June 2016.