"Caused More Damage Than Covid": Shivraj Chouhan Jabs Congress Leaders

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday took a swipe at senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath, alleging that they have caused more damage to the state than coronavirus.

His remark comes a day after Digvijaya Singh said he is the coronavirus for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Both Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath, who hail from Madhya Pradesh, are former chief ministers of the state. While Nath is currently the grand old party's state unit chief, Singh is a Rajya Sabha member.

"He (Singh) has done a perfect comparison. Both Singh and Nath have caused much more damage to the state than the coronavirus. I am surprised that he did not find any other virus for the comparison and found only coronavirus for it," Chouhan told reporters.

He was speaking at the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office where former finance minister Jayant Malaiya's son, Siddharth Malaiya, was inducted back into the party fold.

Siddharth Malaiya had quit the saffron outfit following differences with the party leadership over denial of ticket in the Damoh Assembly bypolls.

"The coronavirus that created havoc in the lives of the people and ruined the country's economy...But it was because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that not one, but two vaccines were developed against the virus. Otherwise, Nath had left the people of the state at the mercy of corona. Today, COVID-19 is completely under control," Chouhan said.

"But more than COVID-19, both Singh and Nath have caused damage to the state and its people. The state was totally ruined. There were no roads, no electricity and no water. Even the state's growth rate was negative. Unemployment and corruption were prevalent. During more than a year of his government, Nath destroyed and damaged the state," he added.

But it was good that the BJP came back to power and tried to develop the state in a historic manner, the chief minister said.

Talking to reporters in Indore on Wednesday, Singh said he is the coronavirus for the BJP and the RSS. He made the remark while reacting to a recent statement by state Water Resources Minister and BJP leader Tulsiram Silawat. Silawat recently described Singh as the "coronavirus of the Congress" and said he prayed to Lord Mahakal (one of 12 jyotirlingas in Ujjain) that the next birth of the 76-year-old Congress leader should be in China, where the infectious viral disease was first detected in 2019.

Hitting back at the state cabinet minister (Silawat), Singh said, "Yes, I am the coronavirus for the BJP and the Sangh."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)