I am poor and, therefore, ensure poor children go to school, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said (File)
A day after a Congress leader called him "nange bhooke ghar ka" (from a poverty stricken household) during a bypoll campaign rally, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hit back on Monday claiming hailing from a poor background allowed him to understand the pain of the deprived and downtrodden.
Addressing a rally on Sunday in Rajpur in Ashoknagar, Congress farmers' cell leader Dinesh Gurjar highlighted Mr Chouhan's humble origins and that of "big industrialist" former chief minister Kamal Nath.
"Kamal Nath desh ke doosre number ke udyogpati hai. Shivraj ki tarah nange bhooke ghar ke nahi (Kamal Nath is a big industrialist. He is not like Shivraj (Singh Chouhan) who is from a poverty-stricken household)," Gurjar said in the presence of the senior Congress leader who was state CM till March. Responding on Twitter, Mr Chouhan said. "I am from a nange bhooke ghar ka, and that's why I understand their pain.
I am poor and, therefore, ensure poor children go to school by becoming their mama (as the CM is affectionately called by supporters). I am poor, therefore, I perform kanyadaan (giving away the bride) of daughters of poor families."
Addressing a rally in Guna, Mr Chouhan lashed out at the Congress over the "nange bhooke" remark and took a swipe at Mr Nath by stating "I understand the pain of the poor but an industrialist won't".
The BJP and the Congress are in a bitter tussle for 28 MP Assembly seats where bypolls are scheduled for November 3.
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