GUARDIAN OF OFFENDED SENSIBILITIES

Mishra’s relationship with Shivraj Chouhan has been strained in the present term, so much so that his trip to Delhi led to rumours of an imminent CM change

- Rahul Noronha

He may be the home minister of Madhya Pradesh, but that does not stop 61-year-old Narottam Mishra from taking up issues that could hurt ‘Hindu sensibilities’ anywhere in the country. With a standing of 30 years in state politics, Mishra has succeeded in compelling ‘offenders’ to back down, earning a cult following in the bargain. He is placing himself as a principal challenger to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and many see his zeal as nothing more than an attempt to reinvent himself politically.

Amazon is only the latest target of the minister’s ire. On January 25, Mishra directed the Madhya Pradesh director general of police to file an FIR against the e-commerce giant for allegedly selling a shoe with the Indian flag on it. “It has come to my attention that Amazon online platform had been using the national flag to sell its products.... Prima facie it seems to be a matter of violation of the flag code, which is hurtful. Insulting the country will not be tolerated at any cost,” he tweeted. This is not even the first time that Mishra has acted against Amazon. In November 2021, a case was registered in Bhind against Amazon officials after it was found that marijuana was being sold on the online platform under the guise of selling stevia.