Read The Riot Act

Less than a month into office, CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan is caught up in a legal tangle. The Opposition Congress has dug up a criminal case pending against him when he contested the last LS polls. He had failed to mention this in his affidavit filed along with his nomination. Under EC rules, the lapse can attract a disqualification from contesting elections for six years. Chauhan, presently an LS MP, has to contest assembly elections within the next six months. A criminal case of rioting is pending against Chauhan in the Goharganj court, Raisen district, since 1996. The case was quietly withdrawn by the government after Chauhan took over as CM. Unfortunately for him, the Congress got wind of it. It will be lodging a formal complaint with the EC soon.