Rahul a confused person, can't run government: Chouhan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday took a potshot at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, labeling him as "a confused person" and questioning his ability to lead the nation.

Addressing an election rally here, Chouhan said, "Rahul Baba doesn't even know whether onion grows in the field. He is confused. He says that my son's name cropped up in Panama Papers case. We are mere farmers. We don't even know what Panama is. When I asked for proof, he apologized, saying that he was confused. Can confused people like him run a government?"

He also came down heavily on the Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh unit chief Kamal Nath for his comments regarding women candidates, saying that his party did not hand out tickets to women just for the sake of fulfilling a quota or for decoration.

"This is India. You need to understand Indian culture, where mothers, daughters, sisters are kept at a very high pedestal. In this country, which respects women, you compared them to decorative things. This is an insult to our women, which will not be tolerated," Chouhan said.

He also attacked indirectly Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia for his royal background, saying "Congress leaders are angry because I am a farmer's son and they come from a family of kings. They think how this man has been the chief minister for so many years when the responsibility of governance has traditionally been with them. They are angry because I do good for the people. I pay their bills. I give books for students. They are very angry."

The state will go to polls on November 28 to elect 230 members of the legislative assembly. The results will be declared on December 11. The Congress has been out of power in the state since 2004.

Chouhan, who has held the chief minister's post since 2005, will contest from Budhni constituency, where the Congress has fielded Arun Yadav to take on him.