Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections: Kamal Nath’s ‘decoration’ remark over women candidates triggers row

We gave tickets to all women candidates who could win. Just for the sake of quota or decoration…we did not choose that path, says Kamal Nath.
Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath has triggered a fresh row in the run up to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. Addressing a press conference over distribution of tickets to candidates, the former Union minister referred to names of women being as a decoration.
When asked about lesser number of women candidates featuring in the Congress list of candidates, the veteran Congress leader said, “We gave tickets to all women candidates who could win. Just for the sake of quota or decoration…we did not choose that path.”
The remark by the Congress leader gave a shot in the arm of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which demanded that the leadership of the grand old party and Kamal Nath must apologise for the same.
The fresh row comes even before dust could settle on the controversy over Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakhas issue mentioned in the manifesto of the Congress party. In its manifesto for Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, the Congress had said that it would impose a ban on the use of government buildings for RSS meetings. It had also said that it would revoke a previous order allowing government employees to take part in RSS activities.
Reacting to it, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that RSS shakhas would continue to be held in state government offices and there would be no restrictions on employees over attending them.
Hitting out at the Congress, the BJP strongman had said, “The RSS is an organisation of patriots and every nationalist and the government staffers can attend its ‘shakhas’. The Congress is nursing an ego.”
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra had also attacked Congress over the issue, accusing the Congress of having a one-point agenda of not letting Ram temple construction begin and not letting RSS shakha function.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Patra had said, “Looks like the Congress these days has only one motto- Mandir nahi ban ne denge, Shakha nahi chalne denge.”