Controversial statements of Kamal Nath – a mistake or opposition trap?

Making controversial statements is part of politics. Several leaders themselves make irrational and illogical statements to create controversy, some by-mistakes. There are also few leaders who never attempt making controversies but still get trapped due to dirty tricks of opposition. The latest addition in ‘controversial statements’ list is senior Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh Kamal Nath.

In the video which has gone viral on social media, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath is purportedly heard talking about the importance of Muslim votes for the party in a closed-door meeting.

“My request to you is that you analyse past records…How much voting in Muslim booths, and if there was 50-60 percent voting, then why 60 percent – why not 90 percent? This post-mortem is very important,” Kamal Nath said.

“If we don’t get 90 percent votes of the Muslims, then we are doomed. You are talking about 80 (percent). I am talking about 90… You know where there are Muslim votes, how much voting took place there? If there was less than 60 percent voting, then why? It must have been a big reason,” the nine-time Lok Sabha parliamentarian added.

Criticising strongly to this, BJP’s Amit Malviya tweeted the video and called it the “communal truth of the Congress’s politics”. A delegation of BJP leaders will petition the Election Commission against the video.

कांग्रेस की राजनीति का ‘साम्प्रदायिक’ सच… pic.twitter.com/loEJOHJhp8

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 21, 2018

On the other hand, Shobha Oza said, “It seems the BJP has just lost the plot. What’s wrong in the video? He is just appealing for votes. They don’t want to answer the questions that people are asking. Different communities are meeting him, he is just telling them to vote. They are just showing some edited portions without any context.”

Earlier, a taped conversation of Kamal Nath was surfaced on social media saying that for him the winnability of a candidate was of utmost importance and the number of criminal cases did not matter.

BJP’s Amit Malviya had tweeted the video.

Kamalnath tells Muslim group behind closed door “हम निपट लेंगे इनसे (हिंदुओं से) बाद में…”

चौराहे पर शिव भक्ति का ढोंग और बंद कमरे में मुस्लिम तुष्टिकरण। pic.twitter.com/iZ8CPqo01I

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 14, 2018

The Live Mirror independently could not verify the authenticity of these two videos.  

The elections for 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly will be held in the single phase on 28th of this month. The results will be declared on December 11.

Importantly, the BJP is facing a stiff challenge at the hands of the Opposition Congress in the Assembly elections. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has been ruling the state for the last 15 years, is battling with anti-incumbency and farmers’ anger to retain power.

Also Read: Watch: BJP MLA greeted with garland of shoes in poll bound Madhya Pradesh