MP: Digvijaya stages sit-in near CM's residence to highlight plight of project-hit people

However, Chouhan cancelled the appointment on Thursday, citing other exigencies.The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister has said in the past he had written several letters highlighting the plight of people affected by the two dams, but the CM had not yet replied to any of them.The Rajya Sabha MP has said thousands of acres of land will be submerged, while many villages will partially or totally go underwater due to the Tem and Suthalia projects.

Veteran Congress leader Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh on Friday staged a sit-in protest near Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's residence to highlight the plight of people affected by Tem and Suthalia irrigation projects.

Former chief minister Kamal Nath met Chouhan at the state hangar and later joined Singh at the protest site. Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja said that it was a courtesy meeting, as Nath had traveled to Bhopal from Chhindwara, while Chouhan was on his way to Chidavad village in Dewas district.

The Congress leader and a large number of his supporters staged the sit-in near the chief minister's residence singing ''Raghupati Raghav Rajaram'', as the police blocked the road leading to Chouhan's house in the Shyamla Hills area.

Earlier, a public relations department official had informed that Chouhan had granted time to Singh for a meeting around 12 noon on January 23, and the message was flashed prior to 11 am.

However, Singh and his supporters went ahead with the scheduled sit-in to highlight the woes of people affected by the Tem and Suthalia projects in the Rajgarh, Bhopal, and Vidisha districts.

Singh had warned of staging a sit-in before the chief minister's official residence if the latter did not give him time to meet by January 20.

The senior leader had later informed that he was granted time to meet the chief minister on January 21 at 11.15 am. However, Chouhan canceled the appointment on Thursday, citing other exigencies.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister has said in the past he had written several letters highlighting the plight of people affected by the two dams, but the CM had not yet replied to any of them.

The Rajya Sabha MP has said thousands of acres of land will be submerged, while many villages will partially or totally go underwater due to the Tem and Australia projects. He has said very little compensation was being given to the affected people in Bhopal, Rajgarh, and Vidisha districts.