Rahul should apologise for his remarks on ordinance: Chouhan

Bhopal, Sept 29: Continuing his attack on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said the former should apologise to countrymen for "insulting" Prime Minister's Office over the ordinance that seeks to protect convicted lawmakers.

"The comments made by Rahul Gandhi about the ordinance are against the dignity of the PMO and amounts to an insult to the country's self-respect. Therefore he should apologise to the people of the nation," Chouhan told reporters at Narsinghpur town before embarking on his 'Janashirwad Yatra'.

The voice against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet was raised by the leader of their own party and therefore, the entire council of ministers should immediately step down, he said.

"By making such a statement, especially when the Prime Minister is taking part in important meetings in foreign countries, Rahul has lowered the country's image in the eyes of the world," Chouhan said.

Targetting Manmohan Singh, the chief minister said, "The country has never seen such a helpless Prime Minister in its history."

"Though it was clear ten years back that Manmohan Singh was not the real Prime Minister of the country, it has become all the more evident now that the real power centre is 10 Janpath (Congress president Sonia Gandhi's residence). This incident has further proved that the country has dual-power centre--- firstly, the PMO and secondly 10 Janpath," he added.

Taking a dig at both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Chouhan said, "While mother first ensures the passage of an ordinance, the son later talks of tearing it apart!"

In a major embarrassment to the UPA government, Gandhi had denounced the controversial ordinance to negate the Supreme Court verdict on convicted lawmakers as "complete nonsense" and said the ordinance should be "torn up and thrown away".

PTI