BJP leader sparks row with threat to Jyotiraditya Scindia

Bhopal: A ruling BJP leader has threatened to break Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia’s hand and chop off his tongue if he dared to challenge chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

A video showing BJP leader Radheshyam Dhakad giving the threat while addressing a public meeting at Kolaras in Shivpuri district on Sunday went viral on Monday, triggering an outrage.

He, however, retracted his comment following the uproar, saying, “I made the statement in the context of politics. I have absolutely no personal enmity.”

The BJP leader while addressing the public meeting at Kolaras said the Kirar community, to which the chief minister belonged, would no longer bear frequent verbal attacks by Mr Scindia against the chief minister.

“Mr Scindia is dubbing the chief minister as a murderer of farmers. The Kirar community is deeply hurt by such comment by him,” he added.

“If Mr Scindia points a finger at the chief minister, then his hand will be broken and if he speaks against him then his tongue will be chopped off,” Mr Dhakad, president of Kirar Samaj, said.

The Congress has blamed the chief minister for the last year’s police firing on the agitating farmers in Mandsaur in MP in which six tillers were killed.

Kolaras and Mungawali Assembly constituencies are going to byelections shortly.

Both the constituencies fall under Gwalior-Chambal region, Mr Scindia’s bastion.

Interestingly, chief minister’s son Kartikeya Singh Chouhan was also present at the meeting.

The Opposition Congr-ess on Monday took strong exception to the comment by the BJP leader.