Shivraj Chouhan's speech was captured on camera (File)
Claiming that his helicopter was denied permission to land in Chhindwara's Umreth, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday issued a warning to the city's collector.
"In West Bengal, Mamata didi, she was not letting us land, after her, Kamal Nath dada has come...dear pitthu collector, listen carefully, what will happen to you when our days will be back soon," he said at a rally.
Mr Chouhan was scheduled to land in Umreth at around 5:30 pm but he was informed that he was allowed to land there only by 5 pm and not beyond that time.
"I would have reached Umreth at around 5:30 pm. But my staff was informed that I was allowed to land there by 5 pm, else they won't let me land," Mr Chouhan told reporters. "I am holding rallies in other states and different parts of the state but nothing of this sort has happened anywhere. I requested them please allow me to land the helicopter till 6 pm... I oppose this incident; this is anti-democratic. Governments will come and go, but nobody should do this," he said.
Mr Chouhan decided to take the road as he had to interact with people of Gurmandi area.
"We acted as per the rules, Helicopters can land between 10 am and 5 pm, but the permission was sought at 5:20 pm, hence we denied it," said collector Shrinivas Sharma.
Shivraj Chouhan's speech was captured on camera.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the three-time chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, conceded power to the Congress last year after the BJP lost a closely contested assembly election. Congress stalwart Kamal Nath took over the reins of the state.
Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja said, "The officials just followed the rules. Chouhan was the chief minister for 13 years but the language used by him was objectionable. We will file a formal complaint with the Election Commission against Shivraj Singh Chouhan for threatening government officials."
Madhya Pradesh is one of the three crucial Hindi heartland states in which the BJP had won 61 out of total 65 seats in 2014 general election. The party has fielded Malegaon blasts accused Pragya Singh Thakur in Bhopal, setting up one of the most watched electoral contests in the ongoing national election, as Digvijaya Singh is the Congress candidate in the seat.
Mr Chouhan, BJP's star campaigner, recently described Pragya Thakur as "a patriot and an innocent daughter of India". "She will win Bhopal with a huge majority," he had said.
The Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh will be held in four phases on April 29, May 6, 12 and 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.