Imarti Devi breaks down in tears, CM Shivraj condemns Kamal Nath for refusing to apologise

Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Imarti Devi on Thursday got emotional and broke down during a public rally in Gwalior's Dabra over former Chief Minister Kamal Nath's 'item' jibe against her.

Addressing the rally, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan called Kamal Nath 'shameless' and regretted that the Congress leader had not apologised over his sexist remarks yet. 

"I have never seen a man so shameless. This is the height of shamelessness. The whole country saw tears flow from the eyes of their daughter and sister Imarti Devi. The media kept asking him, 'Kamal Nath, what are you saying?' Despite this, he did not apologise," Chouhan said.

"Even after Rahul Gandhi condemned his statement, he refused to apologise. What kind of party is this? Sister Imarti Devi, thousands of BJP workers will protect your honour. Your brothers will not let your honour be insulted," he added. An emotional Imarti Devi was seen weeping on the stage.

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Kamal Nath had sparked a controversy after he referred to former Congress leader Imarti Devi as an "item" during an election rally. After receiving backlash, he expressed regret over his remarks and said that he did not intend to humiliate anyone. However, he refused to apologise for the same.

"Why should I apologise when I did not intend to insult anyone? If anyone felt insulted, I have already expressed regret," Nath said on Tuesday.

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Kamal Nath's 'item' jibe backfires

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also condemned Kamal Nath's remarks, saying that he did not like the kind of language used by the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. "Kamal Nathji is from my party but personally, I don't like the type of language that he used...I don't appreciate it, regardless of who he is. It is unfortunate," he had said. 

On Tuesday, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan wrote to his predecessor Kamal Nath urging him to tender an 'honest' apology for his sexist jibe. 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.

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(With inputs from agency)