CM ridicules Digvijay’s defamation claims

While Congress leader Digvijay Singh came to Bhopal courting arrest on the remarks of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chouhan in Panna once again said that Singh had addressed slain Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden as ‘Osama-ji’.

While talking to media persons during his ongoing ‘Janashirwad Yatra’, Chouhan told that he (Digvijay Singh) should realise the difference between a patriot and a terrorist.

“Those who have remarked against martyred police official Mahesh Chandra Sharma and termed dreaded terrorist Osama Bin Laden as Osamaji should think on their own that who is a patriot and who is a terrorist,” the chief minister said.

Chouhan had last week, in an apparent reference to Singh’s calling Osama bin Laden as ‘Osama-ji’ few years ago asked, if adding the honorific ‘Ji’ for a terrorist was not an anti-national act.

After Chouhan calling his actions and statements anti-national, Singh had said that he would appear before the police and they could arrest him. To this, Chouhan said that Singh was free to do so. “We have not asked him to do so.”

Continuing his tirade against the Congress leader, Chouhan said, “Singh talks of getting arrested, but he does not know that he should not say anything against patriots.”

Terming some Congress leaders as ‘Raja’ and ‘Maharaja’ (kings), Chouhan, without taking names, said they are capable of making any comment against the common man. “I belong to a simple family of farmers and am also the chief minister. But they have always commented against me and my family. I don’t have any problem with it. The people of the state are watching them,” he said.

Those who are linking ‘saffron’ with terrorism should realise that it (saffron) is our ancient culture and nobody should comment on it, the chief minister said.

Chouhan also alleged that Singh had ruined the state during his 10-year rule as chief minister. On the contrary, his BJP government, he said, has developed the state and was making it prosperous. Chouhan said a diamond park will be developed in Panna, which will also be included under the ‘mini-smart city’ project.