Scindia, Shivraj protest against Nath\'s reference to Dalit girl as item

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and other party leaders sat on a two-hour silent fast on Monday to protest against former CM Kamal Nath's "item" remark against state minister Imarti Devi.

Chouhan along with state ministers Narottam Mishra, Bhupendra Singh, Vishwas Sarang and some women members of the BJP began the 'maun vrat' (silent fast) at Minto Hall in Bhopal at 10 am.

BJP's Rajya Sabha member Scindia and Lok Sabha member Shankar Lalwani sat on the silent protest at Regal Square in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Indore city.

Besides, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Madhya Pradesh BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma, senior party leader Prabhat Jha along with some other leaders staged a similar protest in Gwalior.

Ahead of the November 3 by-elections in the state, Nath while addressing a poll meeting on Sunday in Gwalior's Dabra town, where the Congress is up against Imarti Devi, said his party candidate was a "simple person" unlike his opponent who is an "item".

Chouhan later hit out at Kamal Nath over his remark against the minister, saying it shows the "crooked and despicable mentality of the Congress.

"With your cheap statement, Congress' crooked and despicable mentality has come to the fore again. You have not just disrespected Smt Imarti Devi, but each and every girl and sister of Gwalior-Chambal region," Chouhan said in a tweet in Hindi on Sunday.

"Kamal Nathji, who gave you the right to play with the respect of women?" he asked in the tweet.

Imarti Devi and 21 other MLAs loyal to Scindia had resigned from the Congress and the state Assembly and joined the BJP in March this year, in the process bringing down the Kamal Nath-led government.

By-elections for 28 Assembly seats in the state will be held on November 3 and the counting of votes will be held on November 10.