On December 4, the MP‑MLA court in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district sent formal notice to three active Congress members, including state Opposition leader Umang Singhar, senior veteran Ajay Singh and Jabalpur‑East MLA Lakhan Ghanghoria. The summoning relates to a defamation suit brought against them; each legislator has been ordered to appear before the court on January 26, 2026.
The lawsuit was filed by Vijay Pandey, who serves as the District Programme Manager for the National Health Mission. In August, Ghanghoria had first raised the matter in the Assembly, claiming that Pandey’s higher‑secondary exam papers were falsified and that he was engaging in corruption as the district’s programme manager. The Congress party subsequently highlighted the accusations in the Assembly, suggesting that the BJP‑led state government was shielding Pandey.
Following a walkout from the Assembly, the three lawmakers held a press conference to address the issue. Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who also heads the state’s Health and Family Welfare Department, set up a committee to probe the allegations. The enquiry concluded that the claims against Pandey were “incorrect” and “baseless.” In turn, Pandey filed a defamation case against Singhar, Singh, and Ghanghoria. This development unfolded amid the five‑day Winter session of the Assembly, during which Congress legislators, led by Opposition chief Singhar, staged protests to pressure the ruling party.
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