Smriti Irani Slams Kamal Nath For 'Item' Jibe On Imarti Devi, 'Gandhi Family Will Never Take Action'

Congress leader Kamal Nath referring to cabinet minister Imarti Devi as "item" during an address ahead of the November 3 by-elections in the state has triggered a political slugfest in the country.

(File Photo/ Getty)

New Delhi: A massive political outrage has erupted after a video of senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath calling 'item' to former woman colleague and Madhya Pradesh minister Imarti Devi emerged on social media. Also Read|MP: Political Slugfest Over Kamal Nath's 'Item' Jibe; CM Shivraj To Observe 'Maun Vrat' Today, Scindia Says 'Congress Never Respects Women' Kamal Nath was campaigning for by-polls scheduled for November 3 in 28 Madhya Pradesh Assembly seats when he made the remarks. Addressing a poll meeting in Dabra, where the Congress is up against Imarti Devi of BJP, Kamal Nath said his party candidate was a simple person, unlike his opponent who is an 'item'. "Why should I take her name? You all know that person better than me. What an item," Nath said amid cheers from the crowd which kept shouting 'Imarti Devi' as the remarks were being made. Bharatiya Janata Party has trained its guns at Nath over his objectionable comment at Imarti Devi. While Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that Nath’s comment is an insult to all the daughters and sisters of Madhya Pradesh and sat on a silent protest from 10 am to 12 pm on Monday, Smriti Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development spoke in support of Imarti Devi slamming Kamal Nath for his derogatory remark. Smriti Irani said that the Congress ministers have a history of defaming women and the sad part is that the women Congress leaders neither stop them nor criticise them for such behavior. “I can’t find any justification that Kamal Nath Ji can give for using such derogatory word against a woman political leader. I can’t understand why Gandhi family chooses to be absolutely silent,” Irani said, as quoted by news agency ANI. “I don’t think Gandhi family will take action against Kamal Nath for making such a derogatory statement against a lady. Be it, Kamal Nath or Digvijaya Singh, these are the people who keep the fire burning in Gandhi family’s kitchen,” the BJP leader added. Jyotiraditya Scindia launched an attack at the Congress veteran and said that this is Congress's principle. “First, Digvijay Singh had said something about Congress leader Meenakshi Natrajan which I don't remember, now Kamal Nath called BJP's Imarti Devi an 'item' while Ajay Singh called her 'Jalebi'. Congress never respect women,” he said. The former chief minister, however, said the remark was not meant to insult anyone. “I said something, it wasn’t to insult anyone... I just didn’t remember the (person’s) name... this list (in his hand) says item number 1, item number 2. Is this an insult? Kamal Nath doesn’t insult anyone, he’ll only expose you with truth,” the Congress leader was quoted as saying by ANI. Imarti Devi requests Sonia Gandhi to dismiss Kamal Nath Meanwhile, Imarti Devi, BJP’s candidate in the Madhya Pradesh elections, said Sonia Gandhi should dismiss Nath. Condemning Kamal Nath’s remark, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Monday sought an explanation from the Congress leader. “The commission strongly condemns this irresponsible and disparaging statement made by the leader. The words used in the video are highly defamatory and show disrespect towards the dignity of a woman,” the NCW said in a statement. Also Watch|Congress leaders' mindset is corrupt: Prahlad Patel on Kamal Nath's 'item' comment