The Congress on Tuesday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored judicial inquiry into land deals in Ujjain allegedly linked to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s family and relatives.
The accusations of conflict of interest came after an investigation published by The Indian Express brought the purchases into public view. Neither Yadav nor the BJP had formally responded to the charges yet, though relatives argued they had already been in the realty business and there was no irregularity.
Congress general secretary and comms chief Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, described the Madhya Pradesh government — taking aim at the BJP’s “double engine” slogan — as running an “engine of loot at full speed”. He accused Mohan Yadav of being “the mastermind”.
Ramesh also alleged the details may have come out due to “infighting” in the BJP, pointing a finger at Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a former CM who moved from state to Centre as Yadav became CM. Chouhan had also not yet reacted to the social media post.
State Congress president Jitu Patwari termed the allegations a “huge stain on the face of Madhya Pradesh,” saying the CM must “answer to the 8 crore people of the state and to the country”.
Patwari also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention and called for a sitting judge of the Supreme Court to conduct an investigation into the matter.
What are the allegations?
Based on state land revenue (khatauni) records, the IE report said Yadav’s family and family-run real estate companies bought at least 137 plots covering 168 acres in Ujjain for ₹45 crore after he took office as Chief Minister on December 13, 2023.
The buyers named in the report are Yadav’s wife Seema, son Vaibhav’s wife Shalini Yadav, brothers Nandlal and Narayan Yadav, Narayan’s wife Rekha, their son Abhay Yadav, and first cousins Govind and Nilesh Yadav, either directly or through one of four real estate companies run by the family.
The paper alleged that 111 of the 168 acres bought since Yadav became CM are next to road projects announced by his government, and that family holdings overlap with several zones where land use was changed from agriculture to residential or commercial under the Ujjain Master Plan 2035.
Counter by relative: ‘…just because the CM is from our family?’
Speaking to IE on behalf of cousins Govind and Nilesh Yadav, Govind Yadav’s son Anant Yadav said, “Our family is in realty business since 2010 when my father developed a 100-bigha property. My uncle has many housing projects. As private individuals, we have every right to buy, develop or sell any private land. Should we shut down just because the CM is from our family?”
He said some of the deals dated back to 2020 and that the highway work in question had been cleared in 2019, predating Mohan Yadav’s becoming CM in December 2023.
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