'Roads in Madhya Pradesh as Good as Those in United States': Shivraj Singh Chouhan Reiterates Son's Claim
As per the statistics maintained by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, a total of 1,244 pothole-related deaths were reported in MP in 2016.
Bhopal, Aug 1: Defending his son Kartikeya's claim that "roads in MP are 100 per cent better than those in US", Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reiterated before a public gathering in Shahdol that the quality of roads in Madhya Pradesh is as good as one can find in the United States of America.
"Main phir kehta hoon, humari (Madhya Pradesh) sadken amreeka se kam nahi hain (I would say once again, our roads are not inferior to any American road)," Chouhan said during his rally.
The remarks came amid his son being trolled for making a "bizarre comparison". Speaking to reporters in Bhopal earlier in the day, the 24-year-old said, "Thumping my chest, in the presence of media friends, I affirm that I have been to the US and I guarantee that roads in MP are 100% better than those in US."
Here are some of the Twitter reactions which followed:
This is not the first occasion when Chouhan has made the contentious comparison. On his visit to the United States in October last year, the Chief Minister claimed that roads in Washington were not better than the roadways laid down in Madhya Pradesh.
"When I got down at the Washington Airport and travelled on roads, I felt the roads in Madhya Pradesh are better than the United States," he had said while addressing the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.
The data released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways raises critical questions to the claim made by Chouhan. As per the statistics maintained by the Ministry for the year 2016, a total of 1,244 pothole deaths were reported in the city. The number of fatalities was only behind Uttar Pradesh (3,428) and Maharashtra (1,410).
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 01, 2018 11:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).