A war of words has erupted between the opposition Congress and the ruling Bharataiya Janata Party over the language used by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan while criticising his predecessor Kamal Nath. Chouhan, a senior BJP leader, made critical remarks over poor condition of roads under the previous Congress government led by Nath (December 2018 to March 2020) during a programme in Neemuch district on Monday, inviting strong reaction from the opposition party.

Speaking at the programme, Chouhan said nowadays state Congress president Nath has been asking for an account of his 18 years of rule in the state. "Hey Kamal Nath, when your party was in power, we had to find roads in potholes. There were no proper roads and you are talking to me?" said the CM, hitting out at the Congress leader.

While replying to the CM's barbs, Nath said in a tweet, "Shirvaji Ji you said for me, Teri Party Ki Sarkar. Some words spoken by you were not in good taste. Why are you desperate like this?" Nath further said, "You abused me a few days ago, too. No one can win the heart of people by using abusive language. It is assumed that you are losing (polls) and losing badly, but what would be achieved by using foul language?" The state Congress president said he will never use abusive words against Chouhan. "The public is our judge, they will judge between good and bad, and do justice," Nath said. Asked about Nath's reaction to Chouhan's critical comments, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Tuesday said in the past Congress leaders have used objectionable words against women and cited a couple of examples.

Leader of Opposition in the assembly Govind Singh of the Congress said his party colleague Nath is 12 to 14 years older than Chouhan and of his elder brother's age. Singh, talking to reporters, said, "Using derogatory language is the BJP's culture. Is this the language that exists in Shivraj Singh's dictionary?" The Congress-BJP spat comes ahead of the assembly polls due in the state by the year-end.