She was speaking at an event organised by traders' body Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal.
Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur, known for regularly courting controversy, has yet again put the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government of Madhya Pradesh in the dock by claiming that poor people in three of the villages she has adopted are forced to sell their daughters to pay off cops.
Speaking at an event organised by traders' body Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal on Saturday, she said she has adopted three villages where people are forced to even sell their children to free those caught selling illicit liquor for a living.
"The people in those villages are poor. They make and sell raw liquor. In such a situation, when the police catch them, they sell their daughters, give money to the police and rescue their people," she said.
MPs adopt a village every year and boost developmental work to turn them into model villages.
Reacting to the Bhopal MP's remark, Congress spokesperson and member of State Women's Commission Sangeeta Sharma said, "This is very sad and condemnable. Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has been in power for 18 years, making tall claims like the Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao campaign, and this is the situation in state capital Bhopal. The BJP MP is herself narrating the ground realities. This clearly shows all the big claims being made in Madhya Pradesh are false."
Ms Sharma also demanded that Pragya Singh Thakur should reveal who these children are being sold to and who the buyers are.
In a bid to firefight the fallout of the Bhopal MP's sensational claims, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra said that Ms Thakur belongs to their family and their party and if she has any information in this regard, she could inform them and let the law take its course.
Pragya Thakur has made such controversial statements many times in the last three years, embarrassing not just the state government but the BJP-ruled Centre as well.