Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece demands resignation of two ministers seen laughing during condolence meet held for ex-PM

Raipur: Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s niece Karuna Shukla on Saturday demanded the resignation of two Chhattisgarh ministers who were seen laughing in a purported video of a condolence meeting held for the late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart. The video which has gone viral shows Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal and Health Minister Ajay Chandrakar talking to each other and laughing while sitting on the stage during the condolence meet for Vajpayee in Raipur on 23 August. Shukla, who is now with the Congress, said she was pained by the BJP ministers’ behaviour. “They have no respect for Bharat Ratna Atalji who formed their state,” she said, speaking at a press conference. [caption id=“attachment_5030201” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s niece Karuna Shukla. PTI[/caption] Chhattisgarh came into existence when Vajpayee was the prime minister. Shukla, a former BJP MP from Janjgir-Champa in Chhattisgarh, quit the saffron party ahead of 2013 Assembly polls and joined the Congress later. If the top leadership of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respect Vajpayee, they should ask the ministers to step down, or sack both of them, she said. This is necessary so that the next generation of BJP leaders learn how to behave at a condolence meeting, she said. While the video drew criticism from the Congress, there was no reaction from the state BJP leadership. Shukla also accused the BJP of politicising Vajpayee’s death in view of coming Assembly elections in the state.