MP Minister Umang Singhar Says Digvijaya Singh Runs Govt ‘From Behind the Curtain’

Infighting in the Madhya Pradesh Congress came into the open when forest minister Umang Singhar, a member of Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s cabinet, accused senior party leader Digvijaya Singh of running the state government by proxy.

The letter and the outburst

Singhar’s remarks followed a letter that Singh reportedly sent to all 28 ministers, asking what had been done about his earlier letters recommending certain transfers. Singh asked the ministers to meet him by August 31 so that he could learn what action had been taken on applications he had forwarded between January and August 15, 2019.

Singhar, a tribal leader who represents Gandhwani in the Assembly, said Singh was “running the government from behind the curtains” and argued that someone who was actually in charge would have no need to write to ministers to get work done.

Another minister, Govind Rajput, who holds the transport and revenue portfolios, took a different view. According to news agency PTI, he said there was nothing wrong in a senior leader and former Chief Minister wanting to know what had happened to his letters, since all leaders and ministers want the same.

Reactions and background

The exchange added to speculation of a three-way struggle over the state Congress president’s post among supporters of Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijaya Singh.

The opposition BJP seized on the letter and asked who the “real boss” was. State BJP spokesperson Rajnish Agrawal said its wording suggested Singh wanted ministers to answer to him, and that officials were unsure who the actual Chief Minister was.

During the Lok Sabha campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the state’s Congress government was in disarray because more than one person was exercising the Chief Minister’s power. BJP leaders such as Amit Shah and Shivraj Singh Chouhan have regularly made similar claims.

See also: Indian National Congress | Political leaders

Originally published on 2 September 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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