Cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya talks to person sitting next to Sajjan Verma but not to Congress leader whiling sharing dais with him during an eve |
Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In a rare local political moment, cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya and Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma, known for their sharp political jabs at each other, shared the same stage at Nari Shakti Samman Samaroh organized by the Chemists’ Association but did not talk to each other. The event, presided over by Congress state general secretary Vinay Bakliwal, marked an unusual instance of political adversaries sitting side by side. Though seated next to each other, Vijayvargiya and Verma exchanged only brief pleasantries, avoiding conversation.
Their political rivalry is well-known with Verma often making scathing remarks about Vijayvargiya, once even calling him a ‘hypocrite politician’. Vijayvargiya, on his part, has often dismissed Verma’s statements, once famously asking, “Who is Sajjan Singh Verma?” During the event, Vijayvargiya praised BJP MP Shankar Lalwani, calling him the ‘most popular MP in the country’ and predicting that no one would break his record vote count. Verma, however, appeared disinterested and got engaged in conversation with a local businessman sitting beside him.
There was also a moment of humour when MP Shankar Lalwani, on being welcomed with garlands, noticed Verma sitting quietly. He jokingly suggested that Verma be honoured as well. When Verma refused, Lalwani quipped, “We know you exercise daily. Do some sit-ups here too. Exercise less today.” Despite their deep-rooted political differences, the event brought Vijayvargiya and Verma into the same frame—if not in agreement, then at least in an unusual display of political civility.
Vijayvargiya dubs incident unfortunate
Commenting on the alleged attack by advocates on policemen, Cabinet minister Kailash Vajayvargiya said that the incident was unfortunate and shouldn’t have taken place. “I think that communication gap led to occurrence of the incident. If the officers would have talked beforehand, this unfortunate incident would have not taken place,” Vijayvarigya told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
