Venkaiah Naidu fires on Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi June 09: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has been angered on the Rahul Gandhi here on Thursday.

He accused the Congress of instigating and politicizing farmers' stir in Madhya Pradesh and termed Rahul Gandhi's planned visit to the violence-hit Mandsaur as "another photo opportunity".

Speaking to media reporters here in Delhi, Naidu also dismissed the Congress' demand that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan step down from his post in view of the deaths of five protesting farmers in police firing.

Targeting the opposition party, he recalled an incident in the state's Betul district on 12 January 1998, where 24 farmers died allegedly in police firing ordered by then chief minister and Congress leader Digvijay Singh.

"The Congress is instigating and politicizing the issue. It should stop doing that and behave as a responsible political party to help restore normalcy there," Naidu said.