Bihar BJP goes after Kamal Nath for ‘item’ remark, women leaders plan 4 hour-fast in protest

Bihar BJP's women unit have demanded a public apology from Kamal Nath, who called former party colleague and BJP candidate in the Madhya Pradesh by poll, Imarti Devi, an 'item'.

BJP MP Saroj Pandey (left) at the party office in Patna | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Patna: With the opposition targeting the Modi government over women safety in view of the alleged Hathras gangrape incident, the BJP hit back in Bihar and launched a scathing attack on former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath for calling Imarti Devi, the Congress rebel who switched over to the BJP, an “item”.

BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pandey and a number of other women leaders of the party held a press conference in Patna Monday, in which they demanded that Kamal Nath issue a public apology and the Congress stop “objectifying” women.

Asking the Congress “not to play with the self-respect of women”, Pandey said she along with other women BJP leaders including Lajwanti Jha, who is the BJP Mahila Morcha president, will hold a four-hour fast as a mark of protest.

“The former CM made an indecent comment against a woman leader. Congress is led by a female leader and despite that, her party colleagues are making such indecent comments. Dragging women into politics is not acceptable,” Pandey said.

The Rajya Sabha MP further questioned the silence of Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and RJD leader Rabri Devi. She even alleged that Rabri Devi’s pictures are missing from the party’s campaign.

“Navratri ka parv chal raha hai, Shakti aur Bhakti ka parv aur Congress iss samay mahilao ke liye abhadra tippani kar rahein hai (During the auspicious occasion of Navratri, the Congress is using derogatory language for women),” she added.

Kamal Nath creates furore

The former CM made the remark while campaigning for the by polls in Madhya Pradesh scheduled for 3 November. Addressing a poll meeting in Dabra, where the Congress is up against Imarti Devi of the BJP, Kamal Nath said his party candidate was a “simple person” unlike his opponent who is an “item”. A video of his speech has since gone rival.

Responding to the remark, Devi held a press conference in Bhopal Monday and demanded that Kamal Nath be removed from the Congress.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and a number of other senior party leaders also sat on a two-hour silent fast Monday to protest the remark.