Underlining the need for civility in political discourse, veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh counselled Kartikey Chouhan, son of Shivraj Chouhan, to avoid intemperate language against political opponents.
"If a Congress MLA accidentally wins here, not even a single brick will be laid in anyone's village, you all should understand this," said Junior Chouhan, campaigning for Budhni assembly seat by-election, sparking a row.
Budhni assembly seat is the bastion of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and it got vacant after he got elected as Member of Parliament (MP) from Vidisha constituency in the recently concluded general election 2024.
Sharing the Junior Chouhan's speech video, the veteran Congress leader urged him to learn from his father.
"Kartikey, don't give such speeches from now on. Learn from your father Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In a democracy, both the government and the opposition cooperate together in building the nation. I was the Chief Minister for 10 years but I never used this type of language," Mr Singh posted on X.
"Your father is a witness to it. In the Panchayat Raj Act, the responsibility of construction work is of the Sarpanch and not the MLA. And you are neither a Sarpanch nor an MLA right now. You are like my grandson. This is my opinion. You may believe it or not, is up to you," Mr Singh added.
Reacting to Congress leader's comment, Junior Chouhan doubled down on his remarks.
"I respect Digvijaya Singh as a senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister. It's fortunate that he follows my statements so closely. But he only instills fear. People of Budhni remember his government's failures, which led to the state's downfall. We wanted to learn from him, but his 10-year rule offered us nothing."
In the short video clip, addressing a public meeting in Sehore district, Kartikey Chouhan is heard saying, "If any problems happen in the election then who will suffer? Why should we get into the hot water? Why should we spoil our reputation by making mistakes in the polling? Don't we need to go to the Chief Minister and our Agriculture Minister for work? If any problem happens, then with what face will we go to our leaders to get the work done?"
Vijaypur assembly seat in Sheopur district and Budhni seat in Sehore district will undergo by-poll next month on November 13.
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