In a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urged former chief minister Kamal Nath be removed from all party posts and the party condemn his sexist remark on state minister Imarti Devi.
Chouhan, along with BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, sat on a two-hour long silent fast on Monday to protest against Nath’s remark against Imarti Devi.
“Shamelessly, he is trying to justify them. I am upset about it. Whether he atones for it or not, I will atone for it and observe a two-hour silence with the resolve that respect for mothers, sisters and daughters will be kept in Madhya Pradesh and we will work for their welfare dedicatedly,” Chouhan said, according to The Hindu.
While addressing a poll meeting in Gwalior’s Dabra town on Sunday, Nath said his party candidate was a “simple person” unlike his opponent who is an “item”, according to PTI.
“Why should I take the name (of the opposing candidate)? You all know that person better than me. What an item,” Nath said, according to NDTV, as the crowd shouted “Imarti Devi”.
The Congress is up against BJP’s Devi in Dabra. She was one of the 22 MLAs who resigned in March following Scindia’s exit from the party, according to The Indian Express. She subsequently joined the BJP and is now a party candidate for the by-poll in Dabra, a seat reserved for SC candidates, the report added.
The BJP has also lodged a complaint with the Election Commission.
Chouhan told ANI that the remark is not only an insult to Devi but also to Madhya Pradesh’s daughters and sisters. “Kamal Nath is using objectionable words for a daughter who served Congress for so long.”
Devi has also asked Sonia Gandhi to remove Nath from the party.
Meanwhile, the Congress has claimed that Nath did not take Devi’s name in any of the speeches. “He said ‘kya item hai ye’ and did not take Imarti Devi’s name. It is the BJP who is adding Imarti Devi’s name and insulting her,” The Indian Express quoted Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja as saying.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati has also hit out at Nath and demanded an apology from him and the top Congress leadership.
(With PTI inputs)