Congress leader’s wife takes jibe at mantri’s speech, stirs row

Bhopal: Wife of a senior Congress leader here has stirred a row in the ruling party when she took a jibe at Madhya Pradesh women and child welfare minister Imarti Devi for fumbling while reading her Republic Day speech written in Hindi on Saturday.

While sharing the video of the incident in her Twitter account, Rubina Singh, wife of senior Congress leader and sitting Congress MLA Laxman Singh, posted her remarks: “Our respected minister struggles to read a few lines of a speech, makes someone else take over! How embarrassing!”

Her post stirred a row in the Congress with a section of leaders asking the party leadership on Sun-day to take a note of it.

She later deleted her post when the issue threatened to snowball into a major controversy.

She, however, posted a clarification in her Twitter account saying that the media has hyped the whole issue although she is only a housewife.

Ms Singh, sister-in-law of senior Congress leader and former chief minister Digvijay Singh, had earlier raised questions over her husband being ignored in the formation of Kamal Nath ministry earlier.

She had regretted that her husband was not inducted in the Kamal Nath ministry despite winning elections eight times in his three-decade-long political career.

The minister had fumbled while reading the Republic Day address in Gwalior in MP where she was the chief guest on the occasion on Saturday.