Digvijaya Singh, born on February 28, 1947, is an Indian politician currently serving as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 2014. A prominent leader of the Indian National Congress, he has also held the position of General Secretary of the party’s All India Congress Committee. Singh served as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for two non-consecutive terms, from 1993 to 1998 and again from 1998 to 2003. Earlier, he was a minister in Chief Minister Arjun Singh’s cabinet from 1980 to 1984. In the 2019 Indian general election, Singh was defeated by Pragya Singh Thakur for the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat.

Politics:

MLA and MP (1977–1993)

Singh served as president of the Raghogarh Nagar Palika from 1969 to 1971. Although offered a position with the Jana Sangh in 1970, he joined the Congress party. Singh became a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Raghogarh constituency in Madhya Pradesh in 1977, a seat previously held by his father. He was later appointed Minister of State and then Cabinet Minister in Chief Minister Arjun Singh’s government from 1980 to 1984.

From 1985 to 1988, Singh was president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, a role he resumed in 1992. Elected to the 8th Lok Sabha in 1984 from Rajgarh, Singh lost his seat in 1989 but regained it in 1991.

Chief Minister (1993–2003)

Singh became Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in 1993, resigning from the Lok Sabha. His brother Lakshman Singh was initially elected to the same assembly seat but resigned for Digvijaya. When a petition challenged Lakshman’s election, Digvijaya won a by-election in Chachoura. His policies targeted economically and socially disadvantaged communities, with initiatives like the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and various welfare measures aimed at improving literacy and social conditions.

Singh was re-elected from Raghogarh in 1998 and served a second term as Chief Minister. His education reforms, including new village schools under EGS, contributed to significant increases in literacy rates. In healthcare, Singh introduced the Healthcare Guarantee Scheme to ensure basic care at the panchayat level.

With the creation of Chhattisgarh in 2001, Singh helped Ajit Jogi become Chief Minister of the new state despite his personal reservations. Singh was re-elected in Raghogarh in 2003 but his party lost heavily to the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, attributed to power shortages and developmental deadlocks. Singh’s proposal to write off electricity bills was blocked by the Election Commission.

Nationally

After the 2003 defeat, Singh did not contest further state elections and focused on national-level Congress work, serving as general secretary of the AICC. He supported his son Jaivardhan’s entry into politics, who won the Raghogarh seat in 2008.

Singh was elected to the Rajya Sabha in January 2014. He faced allegations of corruption, which were dismissed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2014. In 2015, Singh requested a CBI probe into the Vyapam scam, but the CBI dismissed his claims in 2017.

In the 2019 general election, Singh lost the Bhopal seat to Pragya Singh Thakur. He contested the 2024 general election in Rajgarh but lost to BJP’s Rodmal Nagar by a margin of 146,089 votes.

Narmada Yatra

The Narmada River, is one of India’s five holy rivers. Unique among them, it is traditionally circumnavigated from source to sea and back during a pilgrimage known as the Narmada Parikrama.

As the longest west-flowing river in India, the Narmada Parikrama is a profound spiritual journey spanning approximately 3,300 km.

On September 30, 2017, Digvijaya Singh and his wife embarked on this sacred pilgrimage from Barman Ghat, located on the southern banks of the Narmada. They began their journey after receiving blessings from their spiritual guru, Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati. Their path took them from Barman Ghat to the river’s mouth at Bharuch in Gujarat, where the Narmada meets the Arabian Sea. At Bharuch, they crossed to the northern bank via motorboat and continued their journey. They completed the Parikrama on April 9, 2018, after covering 3,300 kilometers by foot in 192 days.

Political Disputes:

1998 Farmers’ Shooting Incident
In 1998, during Digvijaya Singh’s tenure as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, 19 to 24 farmers were shot dead by the police. The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) accused Singh of being responsible for the incident, citing his role in the arrest of farmers’ leaders.

Batla House Encounter Comments
In 2011, Singh controversially described the Batla House encounter, which resulted in the deaths of two terrorists and one police officer, as fake. This claim was dismissed by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Congress leadership, who argued that the encounter should not be politicized. Singh’s comments drew criticism from the BJP and sparked internal disagreements within his party.

Comments on Meenakshi Natarajan
In 2013, Singh made a controversial remark about Meenakshi Natarajan, a Congress MP, calling her “sau tunch maal”—a term The Times of India interpreted as colloquially implying “sexy.” The comment faced backlash from women’s rights advocates, but Natarajan defended Singh, suggesting he meant to praise her as “pure gold.” Singh explained that his use of the term was meant to highlight her value, not to objectify her.

Remarks on Osama bin Laden
In 2011, Singh criticized the United States for not respecting Osama bin Laden’s religious traditions during his sea burial, arguing that even criminals’ religious practices should be honored. The Congress leadership distanced itself from Singh’s views, and Singh later clarified that he was not expressing support for bin Laden, but merely commenting on the respect due to religious customs.

2011 Clash and Sentencing
In March 2022, Singh was sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment by an Indore court in connection with a 2011 clash with BJYM workers.