Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said he is like a phoenix that will rise from ashes, in his first speech after returning from Uttarakhand.
Addressing a public rally in the Bhopal Uttar Assembly constituency, Mr. Chouhan said, “The Congress is scared of Mama. They are praying for my death and taking only Mama’s name day in, day out. But, I am Shivraj. Even if I die, I will rise again from the ashes like phoenix to work for the people of Madhya Pradesh.”
Mr. Chouhan was referring to a viral post on social media platform X that titled ‘Mama [Mr. Chouhan’s popular nickname] kaShraddh’, creating a stir in the State due to the BJP giving him a ticket during the Pitru Paksha. The post was shared from a handle named ‘With Congress’ and has a bio that reads “With Congress is the biggest online initiative by the volunteers of @INCIndia”. The handle is followed by Madhya Pradesh State Congress on X.
The Congress, however, has denied any connection with the post and the handle.
State Congress president Kamal Nath wrote on X, “Dear Shivraj ji, May God give you long life. I don’t understand why you see Congress party behind everything? No such tweet has been made by the Congress Party as you are mentioning. If you really feel that someone has tweeted against you, then take legal action against him.”
Slams Rahul
Mr. Chouhan also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and accused him of making false allegations during his Tuesday rally in Shahdol.
“He even talked about Kamal Nath’s age. He said it was 72 but in reality, it is 76,” the Chief Minister said.
The BJP has fielded former Mayor Alok Sharma from the Bhopal Uttar seat, which has significant Muslim population. The Congress’ Arif Aqeel is the incumbent MLA from the seat.
