Replying to the derogatory comment by former Chief Minister Kamal Math on Minister Imarti Devi, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has demanded from him unconditional apology.
If he does not apologise, Chouhan has decided to stage protest on Monday at a suitable place in front of statue of Mahatma Gandhi and observe Maun Vrat (keeping silence) for two hours. A video of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath using the word 'item' reportedly for a former woman colleague who switched over to the BJP has created a furore amid campaigning for bypolls scheduled for November 3 in 28 Madhya Pradesh Assembly seats. Addressing a poll meeting in Dabra, where the Congress is up against Imarti Devi of the BJP, Nath said his party candidate was a simple person unlike his opponent who is an 'item'.
“Why should I take the name (of the opposing candidate)? You all know that person better than me. What an item,” Nath said amid cheers from the crowd which kept shouting “Imarti Devi” as the remarks were being made.
Hitting back, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took to Twitter to say “Imarti Devi is the daughter of a poor farmer” who rose to become a public servant after starting off as a village labourer. Terming a woman as “item”, the Congress and its and leadership have revealed its “feudal mindset”, Chouhan tweeted further.
