Shivraj Singh Chouhan is mentally bankrupt: MP Minister

Madhya Pradesh PWD Minister Sajjan Singh Verma on Sunday hit out at senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, saying that former Chief Minister was "mentally bankrupt."

"Chauhan is mentally bankrupt. He is unable to digest his defeat in the last Assembly polls held in the state," said Verma, while speaking to media persons here about Chouhan's remark on Nehru.

Chouhan had recently said that Nehru was a 'criminal' who committed the crime of imposing Article 370 on Jammu and Kashmir and also of announcing 'cease-fire' in war with Pakistan.

"Jawaharlal Nehru was a criminal. First, he committed the crime of announcing ceasefire in war with Pakistan at times when Indian forces were driving out the Pakistan infiltrators from Jammu and Kashmir(J & K), due to which one-third of the portion (PoK) remained with Pakistan," he had said.

Alleging the BJP was defaming leaders who participated in the freedom struggle of the country, Verma said: "I want to ask Chouhan, Amit Shah, Narendra Modi, who amongst their families participated in the freedom struggle? Is it fair to call someone who participated in the fight for independence, a criminal and that too after 70 years?"

Responding to the announcement of making Sonia Gandhi the interim president of Congress party, Verma said it is an act of dishonesty for him to "imagine about the Congress without Nehru and Gandhi family".

"We need Sonia Gandhi today. This is a big and good decision of the party," he said.

The state minister denied the reports, which claimed that Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia will join the BJP.

"Scindia's support to abrogation of Article 370 was his personal stand. Opinions can differ in the party. This is the politics of BJP against the Congress. Scindia is a strong pillar of the party and he will remain so," he said.