Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday condemned former Madhya Pradesh chief minister's remark against a woman leader and said he personally doesn't appreciate the language Kamal Nath used.
"Kamal Nath ji is from my party but personally, I don't like the type of language that he used...I don't appreciate it, regardless of who he is. It is unfortunate," said Gandhi on the former Madhya Pradesh CM's "item" remark, while addressing a press briefing in Wayanad.
Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath referred to Imarti Devi as an "item" at an election meeting in the Dabra (scheduled caste) assembly constituency in Gwalior district, sparking a controversy.
"Suresh Raje ji hamare ummeedvar hai...yeh uske jaise nah hai...kya hai uska naam ... main kya uska naam lun? ...apko toh mujhe pehle savdhan karna chahiye tha ... yeh kya item hai... (Our candidate is not like her... what's her name? You know her better and should have warned me earlier... What an item!), Kamal Nath said in Hindi while the crowd called out Imarti Devi's name.
Speaking about the nationwide lockdown that was imposed earlier, Gandhi said, "I think national lockdown without any warning has created certain issues, a large number of labourers were forced to walk back home but that is the past and now I think the nation needs to look positively at how to fight this disease."
Gandhi further condemned Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan's statement on the COVID-19 situation in Kerala.
"It is an unfortunate comment. This whole nation has to fight this disease together and I don't think it is appropriate to blame someone or the other. The spirit should be, let us overcome this challenge. I had warned the Government of India publicly in February that India was facing a huge challenge. However, it was not taken seriously," said Gandhi while speaking to a reporter.
Rahul Gandhi said that he held two meetings with the administration here over COVID-19 situation.
"The spirit of the people of Kerala is giving a good result here. In Wayanad there are some unique requirements, there are some weaker sections and tribal populations. So, we have to be a bit more careful and provide a bit more support to them. During the meetings, I suggested that the overall work which is being done here is good," said Gandhi. Speaking about the farm laws, Gandhi said that he thinks there is a tragedy unfolding at the national level as far as agriculture is concerned and it is going to be a devastating tragedy and the Government in Punjab has just taken steps to avert it.
"These three new laws that the government has come up with are going to break the back of Indian agriculture. They are designed to take the agricultural strength of India and food security of India and give it to two or three key players that are close to the Prime Minister. It is being done at the time of COVID because the government feels that the farmer will not be able to resist at the time of COVID. The government is wrong, the Indian farmers are the backbone of this country and he will resist these laws and we will help them do so," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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