Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday sought to play the son of the soil card by daring his predecessor and state Congress president Kamal Nath to make public the latter’s ‘place of origin’.
Addressing election meetings at several places in the state, Mr Chouhan made a scathing attack on Mr Nath for saying that he ‘destroyed’ (chaupat) Madhya Pradesh.
“Mr Nath is insulting Madhya Pradesh and people of the state by saying this. He is an outsider and hence has no feelings for the state”, Mr Chouhan said.
He dared Mr Nath to make public his ‘place of origin’ (meaning birthplace).
“Mera nara (umbilical cord) Jait se, aap ka nara kahan se (I was born in Jait (under Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh). Where were you born)”, he said.
Mr Chouhan said that Mr Nath was asking what sins he had done for which his government was pulled down in March 2020 and added that “The sins Mr Nath had done are countless”.
Mr Nath had stopped the monthly incentive of Rs 1,000 given to the Saharia tribes when he became chief minister in 2018, Mr Chouhan said.
Besides, the one-time grant of Rs 51,000 each given to the new couples under the chief minister’s ‘kanya vivah scheme’ was not released to the beneficiaries by the Kamal Nath government, he said.
Mr Chouhan took a jibe at the two veteran Congress leaders Mr Nath and Digvijay Singh, alleging that they were quarrelling with each other over share of booty.
“Congress leadership calls them ‘Jai-Veeru’ of Bollywood blockbuster Sholay fame. The ‘Jai-Veeru’ pair is now quarrelling over share of booty”, he alleged.
He was referring to the recent statement by Mr Nath asking some Congress workers to ‘tear clothes’ of Mr Singh for not paying heed to their demand for giving a party ticket to a local leader.
Congress has described Mr Chouhan’s verbal attack on Mr Nath as ‘manifestation of his frustration over the prospect of loss of BJP’ in the November 17 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.
