MP CM urges Kamal Nath to tender 'honest' apology, slams attempt to justify sexist remark

On Tuesday, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan wrote to his predecessor Kamal Nath urging him to tender an 'honest' apology for his sexist 'item' jibe at Imarti Devi. Observing that Nath was continuously justifying his remark, the MP CM contended that it was inappropriate for a senior leader to come up with unnecessary arguments to hide his own fault. In his letter, Chouhan also castigated the Leader of Opposition in the MP Assembly for the atrocities against women during the Congress government's tenure.

According to him, Nath's behaviour could give encouragement to crimes against women. Alleging that the Congress government was only interested in corruption and transfer of officials, Chouhan opined that Nath was jealous of the development works launched by the BJP regime. Urging the senior Congress leader to think about the welfare of the people of MP, he reiterated that the 'item' remark was against the tradition of the state. 

Read: Kushboo Sundar Claims Vindication On Congress-to-BJP Shift After Kamal Nath's 'item' Row

Kamal Nath refuses to back down

Addressing a rally in Dabra on October 18 while campaigning for the Madhya Pradesh by-elections, Nath had referred to MP Minister and BJP candidate Imarti Devi as an 'item'. He said, "Suresh Raje is our candidate. He is a simple person. He is not like her. Why should I even take her name? You know her better than me. I should have warned you in advance. She is such an item". While Kamal Nath expressed a conditional apology on Monday, he maintained that the word 'item' was commonly used in Parliament and state legislatures. 

He added that BJP was trying to distract people by raking up such an issue. However, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi disapproved of Nath's remark. He stressed that no politician from any party should treat women with disrespect. When asked about Gandhi's reaction, Nath refused to back down from his stance. Ruling out the need to apologise, he reiterated that he had already clarified the context in which he made the 'item' remark. So far, the Congress party has not initiated any disciplinary action against the former MP CM. 

Read: BJP Minister Imarti Devi Asks Sonia Gandhi To Expel Kamal Nath Over 'item' Jibe