Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla seeks resignation of Chhattisgarh ministers caught laughing at condolence meet

In bitter words, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla on Saturday criticised two Chhattisgarh ministers, who were seen laughing in a purported video of a condolence meeting held for the late BJP leader, and asked BJP national president Amit Shah to take action against them.

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 on Chhattisgarh August 23.

Shukla, who is now with the Congress, said she was pained by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers' behaviour.

"They have no respect for Bharat Ratna Atalji who formed their state. If the action is not taken then the people of the country will understand that BJP has no respect for Atal Bihari vajpayee. The people of the country will feel that the party is politicising Vajpayee's death in view of coming elections," she said.

Chhattisgarh came into existence when Vajpayee was the prime minister. She added, "Not a single dream of atal has been fulfilled here. 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."

Shukla, a former BJP MP from Janjgir-Champa in Chhattisgarh, quit the saffron party ahead of 2013 Assembly polls and joined the Congress later. While the video drew criticism from the Congress, there was no reaction from the state BJP leadership.