Madhya Pradesh bypolls: BJP decries Kamal Nath’s ‘item’ jibe for woman candidate

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. (File Photo)

A video of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath using the word “item” reportedly for a former woman colleague who switched over to the BJP has created a furore amid campaigning for bypolls scheduled for November 3 in 28 Madhya Pradesh Assembly seats.

Addressing a poll meeting in Dabra, where the Congress is up against Imarti Devi of the BJP, Nath said his party candidate was a “simple person” unlike his opponent who is an “item”.

“Why should I take the name (of the opposing candidate)? You all know that person better than me. What an item,” Nath said amid cheers from the crowd which kept shouting “Imarti Devi” as the remarks were being made.

Hitting back, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took to Twitter to say “Imarti Devi is the daughter of a poor farmer” who rose to become a public servant after starting off as a village labourer.

By referring to a woman as “item”, the Congress and its and leadership have revealed its “feudal mindset”, Chouhan tweeted further. Later, a BJP delegation met Election Commission officials in Bhopal and complained against Nath for “insulting women and Dalits”.

Devi and 21 other MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia had resigned from the Congress and the state Assembly and joined the BJP in March, in the process bringing down the Nath government.

Counting of votes of the bypolls will be held on November 10.

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