Fire brigade washes BJP MLA's vehicle in MP; triggers row
What's the story
A video has emerged showing a fire brigade vehicle allegedly being used to wash the car of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ramniwas Shah in Madhya Pradesh. The video purportedly shows Municipal Corporation personnel spraying water on Shah's Toyota Innova using a hose connected to the fire engine outside his government residence in Singrauli district.
Political backlash
Opposition slams MLA
The video has sparked a political controversy, with the opposition questioning the use of an emergency service vehicle for personal purposes.
Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar slammed Shah, saying, "When needed, fire brigades fail to reach ordinary people's homes to extinguish fires, but here in Singrauli, the BJP MLA has turned a fire brigade into his private washing center."
MLA's response
Shah denies knowledge of incident
Initially, Shah hit back at his political opponents, asking if MLAs should wash their own vehicles.
"People should understand one thing. Does an MLA wash his own vehicle?" he said.
Asked if using a fire brigade vehicle was appropriate, he declined to comment directly and asserted that the questions should be asked to his driver.
"I cannot say anything on this issue," he answered, adding he was not at home at the time and did not know what had happened.
Twitter Post
Watch video here
सत्ताधारी दल के विधायक जी की गाड़ी है, हूटर सहित सारे तामझाम लगे हैं, सफाई के लिए फायर ब्रिगेड की गाड़ी हाज़िर है उसके पानी से चमक बरकरार रहेगी pic.twitter.com/YNYybacKQN
— Anurag Dwary (@Anurag_Dwary) August 26, 2026
Alternative explanation
MLA speculates reason for fire tender's presence
Shah also hinted there could be another reason for the fire tender's presence at his residence.
He said he had heard about a water supply issue and speculated that the vehicle might have been called to provide water to Municipal Corporation officials' residences.
"If there was no water in the Municipal Corporation's tank, water may not have reached the upper floors. I heard that the vehicle had come to supply water at the residences of Municipal Corporation officials," he said.