BHOPAL: Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh's angry reaction to cabinet ministers Bala Bachchan and Umang Singhar's reply to questions in the assembly has stirred a hornet's nest. While BJP is getting ready to bring a privilege notice against the former chief minister, forest minister Umang Singhar wrote a strong-worded letter to Digvijaya Singh claiming that it is not he who gave a clean-chit to the Shivraj Singh government, rather his son Jaivadhan Singh who gave a clean-chit to the then government in the alleged Simhastha irregularities."If you had kindly studied my answer correctly and discussed the issue once with me before going to the media, then this situation would not have arisen," Singhar wrote to Digvijaya Singh. "I was extremely pained after reading your statement. I think without reading my answer, you spoke to the social media and newspapers. Whereas your son and urban administration minister in a question gave clean-chit on the Simhastha scam."A question was asked by Congress MLA from Satna Dabbu Siddharth Sukhlal Kushwaha if the government had ordered a probe into the Narmada sapling plantation alleged scam. In the answer, Singhar said that on February 8 the forest department issued an order to account the rate of survival of the plantations of July 2, 2017. The erstwhile BJP government claimed it had planted 6.5 crore saplings on the banks of the Narmada on that day.Reacting to Singhar's reply in the House, Digvijaya Singh had said that he walked 3,100 kms in a circumambulation of the Narmada river and the minister did not know much about the river and its banks."Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed that 6.5 crore saplings were planted spending crores of rupees whereas you raised the issue that crores of rupees were spent and no sapling was planted," the minister's letter said. "Congress party has promised a probe into the matter in its Vachan patra. But let me bring to your notice that only three crore saplings were planted." The minister further stated, "I have not given any clean-chit. In my reply, I have not dismissed irregularities in the afforestation."Singhar also added, "Please do justice to all and think how you can strengthen the party in the state. You have asked how many kms I walked around the Narmada. I am sending you the reply that I gave to the question."

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