Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, a close associate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the latter was Gujarat chief minister, has created a flutter when she declared him “unmarried” at an official event in a Madhya Pradesh village on Sunday. A video clip covering her programme at an anganwadi centre in Timari in Harda district went viral on Monday, causing discomfiture in ruling BJP here. She was heard saying the local anganwadi workers gathered on the occasion that Mr Modi has still “not married”.
“Unhone (PM) vivah nahin kiya hai yeh to pata hai naa aapko, Narendrabhai ne shaadi nahin ki hai (You know, he has not married. Narendrabhai is unmarried)”, she was heard telling them in the clip. An onlooker had apparently taken the video in his cellphone camera. She added that Mr Modi understood the problems of women and children pre and post-childbirth, despite being unmarried. She was flanked by local MLA Sanjay Shah at the programme.
Later, she visited the local hospital where she distributed nutritious food and fruits to mothers and children there. She asked the doctors to take effective measures to combat malnutrition among the children. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mentioned his marital status as married to Jasodaben in the election affidavit filed during 2014 Parliamentary elections. Opposition Congress has often raised the issue of his marital status in public apparently to embarrass him. The apparent faux pas committed by the governor has become a matter of intense discussion in the political circle here, particularly the ruling BJP.
