Madhya Pradesh’s two top leaders – Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state Congress chief Kamal Nath, who have been engaged in a “question war” for over past two months, on Friday saw their verbal spat turn ugly as both used derogatory words for each other.

It all began as Chouhan, at a press meet on Friday, accused the latter of of “inciting communal violence” the state, which he termed an “island of peace” and be it Ram Navami or Hanuman Jayanti, it was celebrated not only peacefully but also with harmony in the entire state.

“But, the Congress and its top leadership want to create communal violence in Madhya Pradesh. Everyone has seen the video of 2018 when he (Kamal Nath) was found ‘instigating’ a group of Muslim voters. Will people be instigated for votes, on the basis of religions and caste? In a recent incident on Wednesday, he again said that riots are breaking out in the country and in the state,” ” he said, referring to Kamal Nath’s statement at a Roza Iftar party.

“Kamal Nath ki voton ki bhukh itni badh gayi hai ki wo pagal ho gaye hain (Kamal Nath has become so hungry for votes that he has become mentally unbalanced),” Chouhan said, sparking off a political controversy and protests by Congress workers in Bhopal.

Hitting back, Kamal Nath said that a few days back, the CM said that he would end him (the Congress leader) and “now he is calling me ‘pagal’ (insane)”.

“The MP CM has forgotten all respect and humanity and ‘sadak chhap bhasha bol raha hai’ (speaking the vulgar language of the street).

“The whole world is watching how the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh is behaving. All civilised behaviour, dignity within him have ended. He is speaking the language of street gang goons.

“I don’t care about my humiliation. I have been serving the people of Madhya Pradesh for the last 44 years and will continue to do so till my last breath. But, I am sad that a person with such frustrated thoughts is sitting on the chair of the Chief Minister of a great state like Madhya Pradesh. Such a person being the Chief Minister is an insult to the 8 crore people of the state,” Kamal Nath, a former Chief Minister, said.