MP Congress to move court for judicial probe

The Congress will approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court to seek a judicial probe into the collapse of six of seven ‘Saptarishi’ idols at the ‘Mahakal Lok’ corridor in Ujjain, a party leader said on Sunday. The six idols collapsed in the corridor near the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain following gusty winds on May 28. A technical team of the Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta started a probe into the incident on Saturday.
“We are ready with a petition to approach the high court. It has been sent to senior lawyers for their go-ahead. In all likelihood, we are going to file the petition this coming week,” a senior Madhya Pradesh Congress leader told. He said they will seek a judicial probe into the incident by a sitting judge.
The Congress will take on the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that “hasn’t spared even gods,” he claimed. The incident smacks of corruption in the installation of idols and development works carried out at the multi-crore corridor, the leader alleged. The first phase of the Mahakal Lok corridor was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October last year. After the idol collapse incident on May 28, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath sought a probe into the “sub-standard construction”, while senior party leader Arun Yadav slammed the BJP government, alleging its corruption was “not sparing even gods”. The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has denied corruption charges levelled by the Congress and blamed gusty winds for the incident. The MP Lokayukta (anti-corruption ombudsman) has taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the incident and asked its technical wing to investigate it, an official earlier said.
The entire cost of the corridor is Rs 856 crore, including Rs 351 crore for the first phase.
The corridor, said to be one of the longest in the country, traverses the old Rudrasagar lake that has been revived as part of the redevelopment project around the Mahakaleshwar Temple, one of the 12 ‘jyotirlingas’ in the country.