Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday, 5 September, said that he was saddened by a contentious statement made by his father, observing that his father's defamatory comments against the Brahmin community had disturbed communal peace.
"No one is above the law, even if that person is my 86-year-old father. The Chhattisgarh government respects every religion, sect, community and their feelings. The comment against a particular community by my father, Nand Kumar Baghel, has disturbed the communal peace. I am also saddened by his statement."Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, as quoted by NDTV.
The chief minister's father, Nand Kumar Baghel, had recently called for the boycott of Brahmins in a statement made in Uttar Pradesh.
An FIR has been lodged against NK Baghel by the Sarv Brahmin Samaj at the Deen Dayal Nagar police station in Raipur, The New Indian Express reported. The complaint has been filed under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505 (1) (b) (intent to cause alarm among a group or provoke violence).
Chief Minister Baghel, registering his disapproval of his father's statement, said that he himself nurtures distinctly different political views and beliefs.
"As a son, I respect him, but as the Chief Minister, I cannot excuse his mistake which has the potential to disturb the public order," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Baghel is presently embroiled in another controversy, concerning Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo, with speculations suggesting that the question of a rotating chief ministership has caused a rift between the two politicians.
Amid the conjecture, Baghel and Deo had also met senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi last month.
(With inputs from NDTV and The Indian Express)
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