Ex-MP CM slams Congress leader for 'Hema Malini cheeks' remark

Senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday criticised Madhya Pradesh minister PC Sharma's statement that pothole-ridden roads in Bhopal would soon be made "pretty" like actor-politician Hema Malini's "cheeks".

Expressing concern over the bad condition of roads, the state law minister said the roads have spots similar to small-pox, like "the (BJP general secretary) Kailash Vijayvargiya's cheeks".

"How can these ministers compare the streets with someone's cheeks? This statement proves the mentality of Congress leaders," Chouhan told reporters.

He also scotched perception that he was aspiring for any Constitutional post in Madhya Pradesh.

Chouhan's clarification came a day after Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly Gopal Bhargava.

Addressing a meeting in poll-bound Jhabua, Bhargava on Tuesday said Chouhan would take oath as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh after Diwali in the event of BJP candidate Bhanu Bhuria winning the October 21 bypoll with maximum votes.

Chouhan was present on the stage when Bhargava made the statement.

As his remarks generated heat, Bhargava said it was "just a poll statement".

"As far as I am concerned, I do not aspire for any post. My only post is to remain in the hearts of 7.5 crore people of the state and to serve them," said Chouhan, a national vice-president of the BJP.

"If wanted I could have become chief minister through manipulation immediately after the 2018 state assembly elections," he said.

Chouhan had served as CM from November 2005 to December 2018.

The Congress had won the last year's assembly polls by a narrow margin, after a gap of 15 years.

Chouhan, however, said Bhargava didn't say anything wrong "in the view of public sentiments".

"Statements in public are generally given by sensing people's sentiments," he said.

Chouhan said many people have been demanding since the the Lok Sabha elections that they wanted him back as CM.

Ahead of the Magnificent MP summit, Chouhan appealed to entrepreneurs to invest in the state and generate employment opportunities.

He also accused the Kamal Nath-led government of indulging in massive corruption.

"These people (ministers in the Congress government) are eating Madhya Pradesh like eagles and crows," he said.