Will observe two-hour silence to atone for Kamal Nath’s ‘indecent remarks’ against woman Minister, says Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday hit out at Congress chief Kamal Nath for making “indecent remarks” against a woman Minister at a public assembly by stating he had no regrets.

Stating the remarks had been made against the Dalit Minister born in a poor household, Mr. Chouhan instructed reporters, “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.”

At a public assembly in Dabra in Gwalior district on Sunday to canvass for Congressman Suresh Kumar Raje, Mr. Nath mentioned, “Our candidate is of simple nature. He is not like her. What is her name?” When the gathering named Imarti Devi, the previous Chief Minister continued: “Why should I take her name? You know her better than I do. You should have warned me before what item she is.”

Appeal to Sonia Gandhi

“In Madhya Pradesh, we talk about women empowerment,” Women and Child Development Minister Imarti Devi, a supporter of Rajya Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia who converted from the Congress in March, instructed reporters on Sunday night time. “Today, he (Mr. Nath) has abused all Lakshmis of Madhya Pradesh. I appeal to Sonia Gandhi to remove him from the party.”

Meanwhile, the BJP has appealed to the State Chief Electoral Officer to act against Mr. Nath for his remarks which reportedly violated the Model Code of Conduct in addition to insulted girls and Scheduled Castes.

Apologise publicly: Mayawati

Calling upon the Congress to apologise publicly, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati wrote on Twitter, “In order to teach the Congress a lesson for this and stop the disrespect of women, I appeal especially to those belonging to Dalit communities to vote for the BSP in the 28 Assembly seats.”

False complaints: Cong.

Claiming the video clip of Mr. Nath’s comment, which had gone viral on the social media, was pulled out of context, State Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja mentioned, “Mr. Nath didn’t mention anyone’s name. And anyway, ‘item’ can mean different things. The BJP is only filing false complaints before the Election Commission, and trying to defame their own woman leader.”