Former Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Surendra Nath Singh was arrested on Friday for a threatening remark against Chief Minister Kamal Nath the previous day, ANI reported. The incident had led to a ruckus by Congress members in the state Assembly earlier in the day.

Singh was later released on bail.

The former legislator told PTI that he had organised a protest in Bhopal on Thursday against action being taken against poor vendors and inflated power bills being given to the slum dwellers. “The protestors were raising slogans during the protest – ‘Hamari mange poori nahi hui toh khoon bahega sadko par’ [If our demands are not met, blood will flow on the streets],” he said. “And when someone from the crowd asked me ‘Whose blood?’, I inadvertently mentioned the name of Kamal Nath.”

About the protest, Singh said: “The local administration has been removing the vendors from the city without their proper rehabilitation. Where do these poor will go? The slum dwellers are being served inflated power bills ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 per month.”

The Bhopal Police also filed a case against Singh for violating prohibitory orders by holding the protest, PTI reported.

On Friday morning, the Assembly had to be adjourned twice during Question Hour. When it resumed, Congress MLAs trooped into the well of the House shouting slogans. BJP leader Gopal Bhargava told the Assembly that his party was not in favour of the kind of behaviour shown by Surendra Nath Singh.