Digvijaya clarifies after viral video kicks up row

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who has kicked up a controversy in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh after a viral video purportedly showed him saying that his party’s votes get reduced if he campaigns, clarified Tuesday that the video was not being shown in a proper manner.

The video, recorded on October 13, surfaced on Tuesday when Congress president Rahul Gandhi was in the state to campaign. It purportedly shows Singh casually talking to workers at the residence of MLA Jitu Patwari here.

“.. mera kaam keval ek. Koi prachar nahi, koi bhashan nahi. Mere bhashan dene se to Congress ke vote kat-te hai, mai jata nahi” (I have only one job, no campaigning, no speech. When I deliver a speech, Congress votes get reduced, so I don’t go),” Singh is purportedly seen saying in the video. “It is not being shown in the right manner, especially the first part. If you hear the first part, you will understand it in a proper way,” Singh told PTI.

In the video, Singh is also seen advising Congress workers to campaign for candidates wholeheartedly to achieve victory.

Singh, the two-time former CM of Madhya Pradesh, has been conspicuous by his absence in the rallies which Gandhi has been addressing in the state over the last few weeks.

The ruling BJP was quick to take a dig at the opposition party over Singh’s comments, with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying the Congress should not treat one of its senior leaders in this manner. State Congress chief Kamal Nath said, “I am not aware of the context in which he was stating this”. PTI

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