The Congress on Tuesday said the “corrupt” Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh didn’t spare even gods, alleging that a storm uprooting newly installed statues in the Mahakaal temple corridor in Ujjain was evidence of a "commission culture" in the BJP-ruled state.

Six statues of the Sapta Rishi in the Mahakal corridor, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, collapsed during a thunderstorm on Sunday night.

Congress general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh J.P. Agarwal said: “We are deeply pained by the destruction of statues, but it is routine for the corrupt government. What is saddening is that they are not ready to spare even gods in their lust for easy money. Mahakaal is one of the most important religious places for Hindus. The incident has shaken them as the government tried to make money from such a pious project.”

Having succeeded in pinning down the BJP in Karnataka on the graft-related plank of “40 per cent commission”, the Congress has decided to adopt the same line in Madhya Pradesh where polls are due later this year.

Agarwal said: “Have you seen any of the lakhs of temples and statutes crumbling in bad weather? The Prime Minister had inaugurated the complex with such fanfare barely months ago. But the statues collapsed. Were they made of paper? Without corruption and commission, is this possible? This looks like 100 per cent commission and that too at a religious place of such importance. When the Lokayukta pinpointed some officials (for alleged corruption during the execution of the project), the state government conspired to protect them.”

The Congress leader added: “In the first phase of the project worth Rs 351 crore, is it true a Gujarat firm got the contract of making statues? Is it true the local MLA raised questions about corruption in the project and a case was registered with the Lokayukta? Why does the BJP fall silent when corruption in the Ayodhya temple project or the Ujjain Mahakaal project gets exposed? Wasn’t crores of rupees spent on the Prime Minister’s programme in Ujjain?”

The Congress demanded a judicial probe under the supervision of the high court.