Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said he is the coronavirus for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), pitching himself as a strong opponent of the two saffron organisations.
The Rajya Sabha MP made the remark while reacting to a recent statement by Madhya Pradesh Water Resources Minister and BJP leader Tulsiram Silawat. Silawat recently described Singh as the "coronavirus of the Congress" and said he prayed to Lord Mahakal (one of 12 jyotirlingas in Ujjain) that the next birth of the 76-year-old Congress leader should be in China, where the infectious viral disease was first detected in 2019.
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Hitting back at the state cabinet minister, Singh said, "Yes, I am the coronavirus for the BJP and the Sangh." The former Madhya Pradesh CM, who was in Indore to participate in a Congress Seva Dal programme, was responding to a question from the media about Silawat's statement. Silawat, a resident of Indore, is considered a loyal supporter of Union minister and BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the Congress in March 2020.
Taking a dig at the state cabinet minister, Singh said the people of his hometown know what he was earlier in terms of wealth and where he stands now. He said, "You (media) should ask Silawat how did his business become so big and from where he got so much money?" Asked about a comment made by Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra against his party colleague and former CM Kamal Nath, Singh said, "Does any person has the right to choose his or her parents?" Mishra had said state Congress president Nath and his son Nakul Nath, the Lok Sabha MP from Chhindwara, were born with a golden spoon.