Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India]: Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has advised Kartikey Singh Chouhan, son of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, after his purported video clip of campaigning for Budhni assembly seat by-election which is going viral on social media.
Congress leader Singh shared the video on his X handle on Friday morning and advised Kartikey Chouhan not to give such speeches and to learn from his father Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
“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. 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,” Singh posted on his X handle.
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? (Apne pair par kulhadi kyo marein)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?”
“If a Congress MLA accidentally wins here, not even a single brick will be laid in anyone’s village, you all should understand this,” Chouhan further heard saying in the video clip.
Notably, two assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh Vijaypur assembly seat in Sheopur district and Budhni seat in Sehore district will undergo by-poll next month on November 13.
Budhni assembly seat is the bastion of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and 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.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), nomination papers will be filled for the by-poll from October 18 to October 25. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on October 28. Nomination papers can be withdrawn till October 30. Voting will be held on November 13 and counting of votes will be done on November 23.