Jitu Patwari has apologised for his comments (File)
In 2020, then Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath referred to former cabinet minister Imarti Devi as an "item" and now more off-the-cuff remarks about Ms Devi, Jyotiraditya Scindia's loyalist, have placed the state Congress chief Jitu Patwari in a major political storm. An FIR has been lodged against Mr Patwari in Gwalior over his "rass-chaashni (sugar syrup)" remark against Imarti Devi.
A video that went viral last night is the genesis of the political whirlpool. In the video, as a journalist asks Jitu Patwari about reports of Imarti Devi reportedly telling voters to support Congress candidates in the Gwalior-Chambal region, he says, "Dekho aisa hai ab Imarti ji ka ras khatam ho gaya - jo andar chaashni hoti hai. Unke liye mai kuch baat nahi karoonga (Imarti Devi has lost her vigour. I won't talk about it anymore)."
The video kicked up a major political outrage, forcing Jitu Patwari to clarify and subsequently apologise for his controversial remark.
"I was in Gwalior on Thursday, where journalists asked me a question. But I tried to ignore it. My statement has been distorted and presented wrongly. Imarti Devi is my elder sister and an elder sister is like a mother. I want to make it clear that my sole intention was to ignore the question. Still, if my words have hurt anyone's sentiments, I apologise for it. There was no negativity in my statement. It was only aimed to ignore the media queries," he told the media today.
However, it wasn't enough to prevent his comments from snowballing into a major political controversy.
While the former minister, Imarti Devi, lodged an FIR against Jitu Patwari under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code for insulting the modesty of a woman and under the provision of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2015 in Gwalior, the ruling BJP's other leaders, particularly the women politicians, announced an agitation against Mr Patwari wherever he goes in the state.
Madhya Pradesh minister Krishna Gaur, terming Mr Patwari's remarks "anti-women" and "anti-Dalit", said the state Congress chief's remarks expose what Congress and its leaders feel about women.
She questioned the Congress leadership for its silence over Mr Patwari's remarks and said, "We want to know what Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have to say about Jitu Patwari's remark. Their silence over the issue means they are supportive of Jitu Patwari's remarks. We demand his resignation as the state Congress chief. The BJP will protest against him wherever he goes in the state."
Mr Patwari, who was in Betul to campaign for Congress candidate Ramu Tekam, had to face noisy protests by BJP workers, who came face to face with Congress workers before the police intervened.
Imarti Devi has been a minister in the state government twice and was a four-time Congress MLA before joining BJP with Jyotiraditya Scindia. Condemning Mr Patwari's statements, Imarti Devi demanded that the Congress leadership sack him as the party's state chief immediately.