Digvijaya Singh

Digvijaya Singh was born on 28 February 1947 in Indore in the princely state of Holkar of British India.{{Cite web|url=http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/biodata_1_12/3014.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003040227/http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/biodata_1_12/3014.htm|url-status=dead|title=Member's Profile, 10th Lok Sabha|archive-date=3 October 2013|access-date=19 March 2020}} His father, Balbhadra Singh, was the Raja of Raghogarh (under Gwalior State), presently known as Guna district of Madhya Pradesh, and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) as independent candidate for the Raghogarh Vidhan Sabha constituency following the 1951 elections.{{cite web |url=https://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1951/StatRep_51_MB.pdf | title=Statistical Report on General Elections 1951 to Legislative Assembly of Madhya Bharat | publisher=Election Commission of India}}{{cite news |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/tornapartism/240313 |title=TornapartismFamilies divided by party colours talk about living under one roof | date=27 April 2009 |last=DASGUPTA |first=DEBARSHI |access-date=27 April 2009}} He was educated at The Daly College, Indore and the Shri Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science (SGSITS) Indore, where he completed his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering.{{cite web |url=http://www.digvijayasingh.in/bio.html |access-date=16 July 2013 |title=Biography |publisher=Digvijaya Singh}}

Since 1969, he was married to Asha Singh, who died in 2013, and with whom he has four daughters and a son Jaivardhan Singh, who was member of Madhya Pradesh's 14th Vidhan Sabha serving as the Cabinet Minister of Urban Development and Housing.{{cite news|agency=PTI |date=27 February 2013 |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Asha-Singh-wife-of-Digvijay-Singh-dies/articleshow/18715222.cms |title=Asha Singh, wife of Digvijay Singh, dies |work=The Times of India|access-date=20 March 2013}}{{cite news |title=जयवर्धन सिंह बोले- राघोगढ़ का हर व्यक्ति कैबिनेट मंत्री |url=https://hindi.news18.com/news/madhya-pradesh/guna-jaivardhan-singh-says-every-person-of-raghogarh-is-cabinet-minister-mpgp-1635028.html |access-date=23 February 2020 |work=News18 India |date=1 January 1970}} In April 2014, he confirmed that he was in a relationship with a Rajya Sabha TV anchor Amrita Rai; they married in late August 2015.{{cite news|title=Congress leader Digvijaya Singh marries TV anchor Amrita Rai: Report|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Congress-leader-Digvijaya-Singh-marries-TV-anchor-Amrita-Rai-Report/articleshow/48842589.cms|agency=Times of India|publisher=Times of India|date=6 September 2015}}{{cite news|title=Digvijaya Singh marries Amrita Rai|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/digvijaya-singh-marries-amrita-rai/|agency=Indian Express|publisher=Indian Express|date=6 September 2015}}{{cite news |title=Digvijaya Singh reacts over viral pic, accepts relationship with journalist Amrita Rai |date=30 April 2014 |work=Indian Express |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/digvijaya-singh-reacts-over-viral-pic-accepts-relationship-with-journalist-amrita-rai/ |access-date=30 April 2014}}{{cite news| url=http://www.telangananewspaper.com/digvijaya-singh-second-marriage/ | location=Hyderabad, India | work=TNP | title=Love Story of Amrita Rai and Digvijaya singh Finally Agreed. | date=6 September 2015}}{{Cite news|title = Digvijaya Singh marries journalist Amrita Rai|url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/digvijaya-singh-marries-journalist-amrita-rai/article7622100.ece|newspaper = The Hindu|date = 6 September 2015|access-date = 6 September 2015|issn = 0971-751X}}{{cite web|author=Digvijaya Singh |url=http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/digvijay-singhs-blog/entry/hindutva |title=Hindutva by Digvijaya Singh's Blog : Digvijaya Singh's blog-The Times Of India |publisher=Blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com |access-date=20 March 2013|date=30 June 2012 }}

The sacred Narmada River, the lifeline of Central India, is worshipped as Narmada maiyya (mother) or Ma Rewa (derived from “rev” meaning leaping one). One of the five holy rivers of India, it is the only one which has the tradition of being circumambulated from source to sea and back, on a pilgrimage or yatra.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Being the longest west-flowing river, the Narmada parikrama is a formidable spiritual exercise and challenge—an incredible journey of about 3,300 km.{{cite news |title=Narmada Parikrama: The Great Circumambulation |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/traveller/mp/inspire-me/culture/narmada-parikrama-great-circumambulation/ |access-date=7 April 2022 |work=Outlook Traveller |date=23 November 2017}}

Digvijaya Singh along with his wife started the Narmada Parikrama on 30 September 2017, from Barman Ghat, on banks of river Narmada after taking the blessing of his spiritual guru Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati.{{Cite news |url=https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/state/madhya-pradesh/other-cities/at-70-digvijay-singh-to-start-3300-km-six-months-long-narmada-parikrama/articleshow/60894403.cms |title=दिग्विजय सिंह ने शुरू की 3,300 किलोमीटर लम्बी नर्मदा परिक्रमा |access-date=19 March 2020 |work=Navbharat Times |date=30 September 2017 |language=hi}} The journey took them from Barman Ghat, on River Narmada southern banks, all the way to its mouth at Bharuch in Gujarat. At Bharuch, Mithi Talai is the point where the Narmada joins the Arabian Sea. Here they took a motorboat from the southern to the northern end and begin the return journey along its northern bank. On 9 April 2018 they completed the narmada parikrama at Barman Ghat having covered {{convert|3300|km|mi}} by foot in 192 days.{{cite news |last1=PTI |title=Digvijay Singh concludes six-month-long 'Narmada Yatra' in Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/digvijay-singh-concludes-six-month-long-narmada-yatra-in-madhya-pradeshs-narsinghpur-4424827.html |access-date=7 April 2022 |work=Firstpost |date=9 April 2018 |language=en}}

Singh was president of the Raghogarh Nagar palika (a municipal committee) between 1969 and 1971. An offer in 1970 from Vijayaraje Scindia for him to join the Jana Sangh was not taken up and he subsequently joined the Congress party.{{cite news|agency=PTI |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/I-had-an-offer-to-join-Jana-Sangh-in-1970-Digvijay-/articleshow/5185792.cms |title=I had an offer to join Jana Sangh in 1970: Digvijay |work=The Times of India|date=1 November 2009 |access-date=13 June 2010}} He became a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) as the party's representative for the Raghogarh Vidhan Sabha constituency of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in the 1977 elections.{{cite web |url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1977/Statistical%20Report%201977%20Madhya%20Pradesh.pdf|title=General Elections of MP 1977 |publisher=Election Commission of India |year=2004 |page=4}} This was the same constituency that his father had won in 1951 as member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) as independent candidate for the Raghogarh Vidhan Sabha constituency following the 1951 elections. Digvijaya was later re-elected from the Raghogarh constituency and became a Minister of State and later a Cabinet Minister in the Madhya Pradesh state government led by Arjun Singh, whom he has called his mentor, between 1980 and 1984.{{cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=Anurag |title=Madhya Pradesh elections 2018: Who is Digvijaya Singh |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/elections/madhya-pradesh-assembly-elections-madhya-pradesh-elections-2018-who-is-digvijaya-singh-489372 |access-date=28 November 2019 |work=India TV |date=4 December 2018 |language=en}}

He was president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee between 1985 and 1988, having been nominated by Rajiv Gandhi, and was re-elected in 1992. He had been elected as a member of the 8th Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India, in the Indian general election of 1984, representing the Rajgarh Lok Sabha constituency. He was the first Congress politician to win the constituency, which had been created in 1977. Having won that contest by 150,000 votes, he lost the seat to Pyarelal Khandelwal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by 57,000 votes in the 1989 general election. He regained it in 1991, becoming a member of the 10th Lok Sabha.

In 1993, he resigned from the Lok Sabha because he had been appointed Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. His brother, Lakshman Singh, had been elected in 1993 as a Congress MLA in Madhya Pradesh from the same Raghogarh assembly constituency that Digivijaya had previously held. Lakshman resigned from the seat in favour of Digvijaya, who needed to be elected to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in order to fulfill his role as Chief Minister. However, the scheme failed when a petition was filed that challenged the validity of Lakshman's 1993 election. Digvijaya instead won the by-election from Chachoura constituency, which was vacated by the Former MLA Shivnarayan Meena that time for the purpose.{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/feb/05mp.htm |title=Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh's proxy war |work=Rediff.com |date=5 February 1998 |access-date=20 March 2013}}

The Hindi Belt, of which Madhya Pradesh is a part, has a significant number of economically and socially disadvantaged Dalit and tribal communities. Through his policies, which have evoked both strong support and criticism among academics, Singh targeted the prospects of those people during his first term in office. These efforts attempted to arrest the declining support for the INC by those communities, who since the 1960s had increasingly been favouring the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Jana Sangh and its political successor, the BJP. He followed the example set by Arjun Singh in taking this approach, which was not adopted in other areas of the Belt such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Sudha Pai says, "He was driven by both the political imperative to sustain the base of the party among these social groups and ... a commitment to improving their socio-economic position." The "Dalit Agenda" that resulted from the Bhopal Conference in 2002 epitomised the strategy, which by Digvijaya Singh's time was more necessary than during Arjun Singh's period in power because one outcome of the Mandal Commission had been increased Dalit desires for self-assertion. His approach to reform in what was still largely a feudal society was driven by a top-down strategy to achieve Dalit and Tribal support, as opposed to the bottom-up strategy of other belt leaders such as Mayawati, who lacked Singh's upper caste/class status and harnessed the desire for empowerment in the depressed communities through identity politics. Among the measures introduced to achieve his aim were the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS), redistribution of common grazing land (charnoi) to landless dalits and tribals, free electricity for farmers, the promotion of Panchayati Raj as a means of delegating power to villagers and a supplier diversity scheme which guaranteed that thirty per cent of government supplies would be purchased from the disadvantaged groups. There was less emphasis than previously on methods of assistance that were focused on reservation of jobs.{{cite book |title=Developmental State and the Dalit Question in Madhya Pradesh: Congress Response |first=Sudha |last=Pai |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=9781136197857 |pages=11–15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tTeF4sMIlZQC&pg=PA11}}{{cite book |title=Business Standard Political Profiles of Cabals and Kings |editor-first=Aditi |editor-last=Phadnis |editor-link=Aditi Phadnis |publisher=Business Standard Books |year=2009 |isbn=9788190573542 |pages=194–195 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qT7QvviGoJsC&pg=PA194}}{{efn|The grazing land was redistributed in two phases, in 1998 and 2001, and saw the proportion such land in the state fall from 7.5 per cent to 2 per cent of total area, with the difference being given to landless agricultural labourers. The value of the transferred land was {{INRConvert|3750|c|year=2001|to=USD EUR GBP}}{{cite book |chapter=Tribal Livelihood Options: Socio-Ecological Changes, State Intervention and Sustainable Development |first1=D. K. |last1=Verma |first2=A. |last2=Sohrot |title=Tribal Development Since Independence |editor-first=Shyam Nandan |editor-last=Chaudhary |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=2009 |isbn=9788180696220 |page=182 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KBX1EJVhjGEC&pg=PA182}}}}

File:The_Chief_Minister_of_Madhya_Pradesh,_Shri_Digvijay_Singh_calling_on_the_President_of_India,_Dr._Shankar_Dayal_Sharma,_at_Rashtrapati_Bhavan,_in_New_Delhi_on_May_05,_1997.jpg, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 5 May 1997]]

Returning to the Raghogarh constituency for the 1998 elections,{{cite web |url=http://www.empoweringindia.org/new/constituency.aspx?eid=708&cid=31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531125104/http://www.empoweringindia.org/new/constituency.aspx?eid=708&cid=31 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=31 May 2014 |title=Raghogarh Assembly Election 1998, Madhya Pradesh |publisher=The Liberty Institute |access-date=5 August 2013}} Singh was re-elected and appointed by Sonia Gandhi to serve a second term as chief minister.{{cite book |title=Developmental State and the Dalit Question in Madhya Pradesh: Congress Response |first=Sudha |last=Pai |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=9781136197857 |page=115 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tTeF4sMIlZQC&pg=PA115}} Census data suggests that Singh's education reforms had become a particularly successful aspect of his government. Those reforms included the construction of thousands of new village schools under the EGS, and may have been significant in increasing the literacy rate in Madhya Pradesh from 45 per cent in 1991 to 64 per cent in 2001. The improvement among girls was particularly high, growing from 29 per cent to 50 per cent.{{cite book |title=Decentralisation, Corruption and Social Capital: From India to the West |first=Sten |last=Widmalm |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2008 |isbn=9780761936640 |pages=75–76 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OlxModpUp0MC&pg=PA75}}{{efn|Singh has claimed that 24,000 new schools were opened in the state during his time as Chief Minister. 26,571 habitations gained a school according to the Planning Commission.{{cite journal |journal=India Seminar |first=James |last=Manor |url=http://www.india-seminar.com/2004/534/534%20james%20manor.htm |date=February 2004 |title=Congress Defeat in MP}}}} In his second term as Chief Minister, Singh sought to extend his decentralising, socially beneficial ideas by instituting reforms in healthcare that would guarantee a minimum level of care at panchayat level by financing the training of locally nominated healthcare professionals. This mirrored his earlier efforts in education and was known as the Healthcare Guarantee Scheme.{{cite book |title=Decentralisation, Corruption and Social Capital: From India to the West |first=Sten |last=Widmalm |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2008 |isbn=9780761936640 |page=86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OlxModpUp0MC&pg=PA86}}

Chhattisgarh gained administrative independence from Madhya Pradesh in 2001 under the terms of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act.{{cite web|title=Chhattisgarh state — history |url=http://cg.gov.in/profile/corigin.htm#prathak |publisher=Government of Chhattisgarh |access-date=4 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704202817/http://cg.gov.in/profile/corigin.htm |archive-date=4 July 2010 }} Singh was directed by Sonia Gandhi to ensure the selection of Ajit Jogi as the Chief Minister for the new state and this Singh did, although Jogi had been critical of his style of politics and Singh had personally preferred not to see him installed to that office. While Singh managed to convince the majority of Congress Legislator Party members to back Ajit Jogi, the absence of Vidya Charan Shukla and his supporters at the meeting raised questions about the exercise of seeking consensus because Shukla was the other main contender for the post.{{cite news |url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1723/17230320.htm |title=The birth of Chhattisgarh |publisher=Frontline |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018020947/http://frontlineonnet.com/fl1723/17230320.htm |archive-date=18 October 2007 |first=V. |last=Venkatesan}} Subsequently, Singh met with Shukla in order to allay concerns.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/basu-parting-gift-to-hotel/cid/882146|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304213406/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1001101/front_pa.htm|url-status=dead|title=BASU PARTING GIFT TO HOTEL|archive-date=4 March 2016|website=www.telegraphindia.com|access-date=19 March 2020}}[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20001104/nation.htm Jogi govt faces instability] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230510/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20001104/nation.htm |date=3 March 2016 }}. The Tribune, 3 November 2001

Singh won the Raghogarh constituency again in 2003{{cite web |url=http://www.empoweringindia.org/new/constituency.aspx?eid=203&cid=31 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130805023252/http://www.empoweringindia.org/new/constituency.aspx?eid=203&cid=31 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=5 August 2013 |title=Raghogarh Assembly Election 2003, Madhya Pradesh |publisher=The Liberty Institute |access-date=5 August 2013}} but his party overall was heavily defeated by the BJP, as it also was in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.{{cite book |chapter=The BJP and the 2004 general election |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |title=Coalition Politics and Hindu Nationalism |editor1-first=Katharine |editor1-last=Adeney |editor2-first=Lawrence |editor2-last=Saez |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |isbn=9781134239795 |page=237}} The defeat in Madhya Pradesh has been attributed in large part to deadlocks in the pursuit of development that had arisen as the Panchayati Raj and central government squabbled about the extent of their respective powers, and to frequent electrical power cuts. The latter resulted from thirty-two per cent of what had been the generation capacity of Madhya Pradesh now being in the new state of Chhattisgarh: while Chhattisgarh did not need all of that capacity, much of it had historically been used in the remainder of Madhya Pradesh, which now found itself having only around 50 per cent of the power that it required. Aditi Phadnis, a political journalist and author, also notes that in 1985, the state had been producing a surplus of electricity through a process of technical and administrative efficiency that was the envy of other areas and that then "The State Electricity Board began to be looked upon as a milch cow by successive politicians, Digvijay Singh included." Power was given away and no money was set aside for repairs and maintenance. One of Singh's last proposals while in office was to write-off the electricity bills of 1.2 million people over the preceding three years. In this, he was thwarted by the Election Commission of India, which ruled the proposal to be a breach of election rules.{{cite book |title=Can Good Economics Ever be Good Politics?: Case Study of the Power Sector in India |first=Sumir |last=Lal |publisher=World Bank Publications |year=2006 |isbn=9780821366813 |pages=23–24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4ygfk0_8m4C}} Singh had claimed that it was desirable because the farmers of the state — who needed electricity to power water pumps — had suffered three years of drought conditions.{{cite news |title=Digvijay files papers from Raghogarh |date=15 November 2003 |url=http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/15/stories/2003111507230500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040204012551/http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/15/stories/2003111507230500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 February 2004 |work=The Hindu |access-date=5 August 2013}}File:Pandit Ram Kishore Shukla with Digvijaya Singh, Santosh Kumar Shukla, Dr. Surendra Shukla and Lal Bahadur Singh (extreme left) at chief minister house, 6 Shyamla hills, Bhopal in 2002.jpg, Santosh Kumar Shukla, Surendra Shukla and Lal Bahadur Singh (extreme left) at chief minister house, Shyamla hills Bhopal in 2002.]]

Following his party's defeat, Singh determined that he would not contest any polls for the next decade and the Raghogarh constituency was won by his cousin, Mool Singh, at the next elections in 2008.{{cite news |first=Kavita |last=Chowdhury |date=17 June 2012 |title=Oil firms should link petrol prices with global crude: Digvijay Singh |work=Business Standard|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/oil-firms-should-link-petrol-prices-with-global-crude-digvijay-singh-112061700006_1.html |access-date=16 July 2013}} Singh shifted his attention to working for Congress from the centre, becoming a general secretary of the AICC and being involved in the party's organisation across several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

In 2012, Singh said that there was a need for younger people to be involved in state assemblies and that he had no further interest in contesting state elections. He expressed a willingness to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections if Congress wanted him to do so; he also said that he would like to see his son as the incumbent of the Raghogarh constituency.{{cite news|title=Digvijay Singh may contest 2014 Lok Sabha polls if 'party allows'|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-11-04/news/34907125_1_nitin-gadkari-bjp-president-digvijay-singh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107022955/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-11-04/news/34907125_1_nitin-gadkari-bjp-president-digvijay-singh|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 November 2012|access-date=21 May 2013|newspaper=Economic Times|date=4 November 2012}} His son, Jaivardhan, was accompanied by his father when he joined the INC in June 2013 after previous involvement in its youth section. Mool Singh, the incumbent MLA, announced then that he would not be contesting his Raghogarh Assembly seat in the forthcoming elections, paving the way for Jaivardhan to be elected in a form of dynastic succession that is a feature of politics in India.{{cite news |work=The Hindu|title=Another 'son rise' in political firmament |first=Pheroze L. |last=Vincent |date=23 June 2013 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/another-son-rise-in-political-firmament/article4841319.ece |access-date=5 August 2013}}

In January 2014, he was elected as a member of parliament to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.{{cite news | url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/sharad-pawar-digvijaya-singh-kumari-selja-among-37-elected-unopposed-to-rajya-sabha-477920 | title=Sharad Pawar, Digvijaya Singh, Kumari Selja among 37 elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha | work=NDTV | date=13 January 2014 | agency=Press Trust of India | access-date=9 June 2014}}

Singh has been criticised by his opposition for corruption,{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Digvijay-should-be-last-person-to-point-fingers/articleshow/8084797.cms |title=Digvijay should be last person to point fingers |work=The Times of India |date=25 April 2011 |access-date=30 May 2014}} which he denied.{{cite news|title=BJP could never prove corruption charges against me, Digvijaya Singh says|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-could-never-prove-corruption-charges-against-me-Digvijaya-Singh-says/articleshow/14560022.cms|date=1 July 2013}} In 2011, a charge sheet was submitted in court against him{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/file-charge-sheet-against-digvijay-says-court/article1718846.ece |title=File charge sheet against Digvijay, says court |newspaper=The Hindu |date=23 April 2011 |access-date=30 May 2014}} but the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) determined in March 2014 that there was no case to answer.{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Treasure-Island-case-Digvijay-Singh-gets-clean-chit-from-CBI/articleshow/32413463.cms=|title=Treasure Island Case: Digvijaya gets clean chit from CBI|work=The Times of India |date=21 March 2014 }}{{dead link|date=April 2015}}

In June 2015, Singh petitioned the Supreme Court, pleading for a CBI probe into the Vyapam scam. He claimed to have interacted with a whistleblower who had revealed sensitive information to him.{{cite news |title=Digvijaya moves Supreme Court for CBI probe into Vyapam cases|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/a-slice-of-history-from-the-buddha-to-nehru/article3033458.ece|date=14 December 2006|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=6 July 2015}} The CBI dismissed the claim in November 2017, raising the possibility that Singh could be prosecuted for fabricating evidence.{{cite news |title=CBI lets Shivraj Singh Chouhan off Vyapam hook, heat now on Digvijaya|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/cbi-lets-shivraj-singh-chouhan-off-vyapam-hook-heat-now-on-digvijaya/articleshow/61378016.cms|date=1 November 2017|work=The Times of India|access-date=19 November 2017}}

In the 2019 Indian general election, he ran for Lok Sabha in the constituency of Bhopal, but lost to Pragya Singh Thakur.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/people/pragya-thakur-malegaon-accused-leads-in-bhopal-digvijaya-singh-trails-2042123|title=Pragya Thakur, Malegaon Accused, Defeats Digvijaya Singh By Over 3 Lakh Votes In Bhopal|website=NDTV.com|language=en|access-date=24 May 2019}}

In the 2024 Indian general election, he ran for Lok Sabha in the constituency of Rajgarh, and lost to BJP candidate Rodmal Nagar by a margin of 146,089 votes.{{cite web |title=General Election to Parliamentary Constituencies: Trends & Results June-2024 Parliamentary Constituency 20 - RAJGARH (Madhya Pradesh) |url=https://results.eci.gov.in/PcResultGenJune2024/ConstituencywiseS1220.htm |website=Election Commission of India |access-date=6 June 2024}}{{cite news |title=Rajgarh Lok Sabha Seat Result 2024: Rodmal Nagar Defeats Digvijaya Singh |url=https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!state/election-2024-result-madhya-pradesh-rajgarh-lok-sabha-seat-winner-rodmal-nagar-bjp-digvijaya-singh-congress-latest-update-enn24060204786 |work=ETV Bharat News |date=4 June 2024 |access-date=6 June 2024}}

In 1998, 19{{Cite news|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/massacre-at-multai/204967|title=Massacre At Multai|work=outlookindia.com/|access-date=10 June 2017}} to 24{{Cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/may/22farm.htm|title=Rediff On The NeT: Frame policy to end farmers's woes: former PMs|website=www.rediff.com|access-date=10 June 2017}} farmers were shot dead by Madhya Pradesh police.{{Cite news|url=http://www.oneindia.com/india/recalling-digvijayas-firing-squads-of-mutlai-uncanny-similarities-with-mandsaur-2457930.html|title=Recalling Digvijaya's firing squads of Mutlai: Uncanny similarities with Mandsaur|work=www.oneindia.com|access-date=10 June 2017|language=en}} Singh was Chief Minister of the state at the time and the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) blamed him for arresting farmers' leaders.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Law/2012/sunilam.html|title=The Conviction of Dr. Sunilam and others in the Multai police firing case of 1998 in which 24 farmers were killed by police bullets: A critique of the judgements|last=(PUCL)|first=People's Union for Civil Liberties|website=www.pucl.org|access-date=10 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231212447/http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Law/2012/sunilam.html|archive-date=31 December 2017|url-status=dead}}

Following the November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, Singh faced widespread condemnation for launching a book which mentioned that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was somehow linked to the attack.{{Cite web |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/after-nawaz-sharifs-admission-of-pakistan-role-in-2611-time-congress-apologised-to-rss-india-4467507.html |title=After Nawaz Sharif's admission of Pakistan role in 26/11, time Congress apologised to RSS, India |first=Raghav |last=Pandey |date=13 May 2018 |website=Firstpost |access-date=22 May 2019 |archive-date=7 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807084400/https://www.firstpost.com/india/after-nawaz-sharifs-admission-of-pakistan-role-in-2611-time-congress-apologised-to-rss-india-4467507.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=28 December 2010 |title=RSS & 26/11: Digvijaya flags it off again,this time in Mumbai |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/rss-26-11-digvijaya-flags-it-off-again-this-time-in-mumbai/ |access-date=15 October 2022 |website=The Indian Express}} Singh was also slammed for coining the terms "Saffron Terror" and "Hindu Terror".

A comment by Singh in 2011 led to disagreements within his party. He stated that the Batla House encounter case, which led to the death of two terrorists and one police officer, was fake. The Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, dismissed Singh's claim and his demand for a further judicial investigation into it. Congress rejected his views that the encounter was stage-managed, stating that the encounter should not be politicised or raked up for political gains. Singh's stand on the Batla House encounter led to criticism from the opposition BJP.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/After-government-Congress-too-ticks-off-Digvijaya-Singh-on-Batla-House-encounter/articleshow/11482604.cms |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712195431/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-14/india/30627425_1_batla-house-encounter-judicial-inquiry-judicial-probe |url-status=live |archive-date=12 July 2012 |title=After government, Congress too ticks off Digvijaya Singh on Batla House encounter |date=14 January 2012 |work=The Times of India |access-date=8 August 2013}}

In 2013, Singh described Meenakshi Natarajan, a female Congress MP from Mandsaur, as "sau tunch maal" ("100% pure goods")—a colloquialism The Times of India described as "frequently used loosely to describe a woman as 'sexy'". Advocates for women's rights were upset by Singh's comment and called for Congress to act against him. However, the MP backed Singh and said he meant that she was like "pure gold"; The Times of India commented that "tunch maal" is "also a trade jargon among jewelers to describe the level of purity of the yellow metal" and added that Singh prefaced his comment about Natarajan by describing himself as a "political goldsmith".{{cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Digvijaya-calls-Meenakshi-Natarajan-sau-tunch-maal-rapped-for-sexist-remark/articleshow/21380305.cms |title=Digvijaya calls Meenakshi Natarajan 'sau tunch maal', rapped for sexist remark |date=27 July 2013 |work=The Times of India |access-date=1 August 2017 }}

Singh criticised the United States in 2011 for not respecting Osama bin Laden's religion when it buried him at sea, saying "however big a criminal one might be, his religious traditions should be respected while burying him." Congress's leadership distanced itself from his views. Singh later said that his statement should not be interpreted as support for or opposition to bin Laden, adding "I had merely said that the worst of criminals should be cremated according to their faith. He is a terrorist and he deserved the treatment that he got."{{cite web |url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/trouble-over-digvijaya-remarks-on-osama-funeral-454693 |title=Trouble over Digvijaya remarks on Osama funeral |date=3 May 2011 |publisher=NDTV |access-date=1 August 2017 }}

In March 2022, Digvijay Singh along with six others was sentenced for one year rigorous imprisonment by an Indore court in connection with clash with BJYM workers in 2011.{{Cite web |last=Desk |first=India TV News |date=26 March 2022 |title=Ex-Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh sentenced one-year jail term in Ujjain assault case |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/digvijaya-singh-one-year-jail-term-ujjain-assault-case-ex-madhya-pradesh-cm-congress-leader-latest-updates-2022-03-26-766099 |access-date=27 March 2022 |website=www.indiatvnews.com |language=en}}

Singh has said that the right-wing extremism of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) represented a grave threat to national unity. He stated that "The RSS, in the garb of its nationalist ideology, is targeting Muslims the same way Nazis targeted Jews in the 1930s". Israel has protested this comment.{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Israel-protests-comparison-of-RSS-with-Nazis/articleshow/7134726.cms |title=Israel protests comparison of RSS with Nazis |work=The Times of India|date=21 December 2010 |access-date=8 August 2013}} He believes the RSS was involved in a number of terrorist strikes including the Mumbai terror attacks.{{Cite web |date=28 December 2010 |title=RSS & 26/11: Digvijaya flags it off again, this time in Mumbai |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/rss-26-11-digvijaya-flags-it-off-again-this-time-in-mumbai/ |access-date=15 October 2022 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}} He requested a CBI enquiry into the murder of Sunil Joshi, an RSS pracharak involved in the Ajmer Dargah attack, alleging that Joshi was murdered because "he knew too much".{{cite news|url=http://www.zeenews.com/news675416.html |title=Cong plenary to seek probe into right-wing terror |date=19 December 2010 |publisher=Zee News |access-date=8 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220093325/http://www.zeenews.com/news675416.html |archive-date=20 December 2010 }} However, the then Mumbai Commissioner, Rakesh Maria, wrote in his memoir Let Me Say It Now that if Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab had not been caught alive, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack had been planned by the terrorists to be portrayed as the handiwork of "Hindu" terrorists.{{Cite news |last=PTI |date=18 February 2020 |title=‘26/11 would have been called Hindu terror attack’, says Rakesh Maria |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/2611-would-have-been-called-hindu-terror-attack-says-rakesh-maria/article30856076.ece |access-date=16 January 2025 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite news |date=18 February 2020 |title=LeT planned to project 26/11 attack as Hindu terror: Rakesh Maria |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/let-planned-to-project-26/11-attack-as-hindu-terror-rakesh-maria/articleshow/74192048.cms?from=mdr |access-date=16 January 2025 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}} Even his own party, the Congress, distanced itself from the remarks made by Digvijaya Singh.{{Cite news |date=11 December 2010 |title=Congress distances itself from Digvijay remarks on 26/11 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Congress-distances-itself-from-Digvijay-remarks-on-2611/article15590682.ece |access-date=16 January 2025 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite news |date=12 December 2010 |title=Cong distances itself from Digvijay's Karkare remark |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/cong-distances-itself-from-digvijays-karkare-remark/articleshow/7084946.cms |access-date=16 January 2025 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |title=India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |year=2003 |isbn=9781850656708 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC&pg=PA441}}

{{Commons category|Digvijaya Singh}}

{{Official website|http://www.digvijayasingh.in/home.html}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-off}}

{{s-bef|before=Sunderlal Patwa}}

{{s-ttl|title=Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh|years=1993–2003}}

{{s-aft|after=Uma Bharati}}

{{s-end}}

{{Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh}}

{{Indian National Congress}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Digvijaya}}

Category:1947 births

Category:Living people

Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Madhya Pradesh

Category:Chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh

Category:India MPs 1991–1996

Category:Politicians from Indore

Category:India MPs 1984–1989

Category:Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1977–1980

Category:Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1980–1985

Category:Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1993–1998

Category:Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1998–2003

Category:Indian Hindus

Category:Lok Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh

Category:Chief ministers from Indian National Congress

Category:People from Guna district

Category:Daly College alumni

Category:Rajya Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh