BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh minister Kunwar Vijay Shah has now come out in defence of his senior cabinet colleague Kailash Vijayvargiya over the latter’s controversial remark about the leader of the opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi kissing his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in public.
Kunwar Vijay Shah is facing an FIR for his “sister of terrorists” remark on Indian Army officer Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.
“His (Vijayvargiya) statements are correct, as in the Indian culture, no brother kisses his sister in public. Kissing one’s sister in public is not our culture and not at all in line with our customs and traditions. For those who indulge in such acts, they should do it in their homes and not on the crossroads,” Shah said in Khandwa district on Friday.
Pointing towards fellow MLA Kanchan Tanve during his speech, Shah added, “She is also my real sister, so would I kiss her in public? Indian culture and civilisation do not teach this.”
Opposition, Congress has been staging protests against the former national BJP general secretary’s recent remarks about LoP Rahul Gandhi kissing his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in public.
Protests against Vijayvargiya, demanding his sacking from the state cabinet, have been reported from Bhopal, Indore, Shivpuri and some other districts.
Slamming Vijayvargiya for the controversial remarks, the state Congress chief Jitu Patwari has said that, due to his failure to become the state’s CM, Vijayvargiya, who is nearing 70 years of age, seems to have lost mental balance, which is why he made such remarks.
He said Vijayvargiya's remarks demean the sacred brother-sister bond and is also an insult to all sisters during the ongoing Navratri festival.
“We appeal to the state’s CM Dr Mohan Yadav to get a good mental health specialist to examine and treat Vijayvargiya. If the government and BJP can’t do it, then all Congress workers are ready to donate money for funding Vijayvargiya’s mental treatment,” Patwari said.
On Thursday, while addressing an event to mark the birth anniversary of BJP ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya in the state’s Shajapur district, the MP urban development and housing minister Vijayvargiya, while speaking about western culture Vs Indian culture, had raised the issue of LoP (Rahul Gandhi) kissing his young sister in public.
“The current leader of the opposition kisses his young sister in full public view on the crossroads. This isn’t our culture; it’s actually representative of foreign culture. It shows a lack of values, but it’s not his fault as he has grown up abroad,” the former BJP national general secretary said.
While referring to the LoP's past pictures/visuals where the latter is seen hugging and kissing his sister (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra), the minister said, “We treasure our rich and ancient Indian culture, we don’t even drink water in the village where our sisters have been married. Whenever my father went there, he carried with him a jug full of water.”
With his statements triggering a political row, Vijayvargiya clarified on Friday. “I didn’t question the sacredness of the relationship (brother-sister bond), I was only referring to western culture while addressing the event on Thursday, which marked the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, whose Ekatma Manav (integral humanism) philosophy was in line with the Indian culture. All relations, be it husband-wife, father-son, brother-sister, are sacred, but there is a Maryada (dignity) of every relationship. I also kiss my sister’s head out of love, but not at all at the crossroads. What I said was that everyone can embrace and kiss their sisters, but if such acts are done on the crossroads, it’s actually reflective of western culture as such acts aren’t acceptable in Indian culture.”