MP: BJP expells OBC leader for 'anti-Brahmin' and 'anti-women' remarks
Bhopal, Aug 20: The Madhya Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has expelled Pritam Lodhi, an Other Backward Class (OBC) leader from Shivpuri district and a relative of former chief minister Uma Bharti, from the party for his "anti-Brahmin and anti-women" remarks.
The BJP took the action against Lodhi on Friday despite his written apology to the party over his remarks that he had made earlier this week.
Lodhi had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election from Pichhore in Shivpuri twice in the past. His son is married to the granddaughter of Uma Bharti's elder sister, an acquaintance of the family said.
"The party took a serious note of Lodhi's remark against Brahmins and women and found his crime unpardonable. So, state BJP chief V D Sharma on Friday took a decision to expel Lodhi from the party's primary membership," the ruling party's state general secretary and office in-charge Bhagwandas Sabnani said in a statement.
"For BJP, social harmony and women's respect is of paramount importance," he said.
Lodhi landed in soup after a video of him speaking at the birth anniversary of Rani Avanti Bai Lodhi on August 17 at Badarwas in Shivpuri went viral. In the video, he could be heard saying that Brahmin priests make people crazy, fool them and loot their money and food grain. He also said that some of them stare at women and make young women sit in the front rows during discourses.
After the video went viral, opposition Congress attacked the BJP, while several Brahmin community organisations protested across the state, demanding his expulsion from the party.
FIRs were also registered against Lodhi in different police stations in Shivpuri, an official said.
A BJP leader said that after a row over his remarks, Lodhi also tendered a written apology to the party.
The Lodhi community is one of the most powerful OBC group in Madhya Pradesh. The community holds sway in rural parts of the state. Around 48 per cent voters in MP are from the OBC community.
#MadhyaPradesh: Insult of #Brahmins by #BJP leader Pritam Singh Lodhi in Shivpuri. #Trending #Viralvideo #India pic.twitter.com/VelePtoYHl
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Misuse of power, money to control election mechanism seen during Maharashtra polls: Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed the misuse of power and money to control the entire election mechanism, which was never before seen in any state assembly or national polls, was witnessed in Maharashtra.
Pawar made the statement when he visited senior activist Dr Baba Adhav, who is protesting against the alleged "misuse of EVMs" in the recent state polls in Maharashtra.
Adhav, who is in his 90s, began his three-day protest at Phule Wada, the residence of social reformer Jyotiba Phule, in the city on Thursday.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), have been alleging manipulation of EVMs in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly elections, which saw a landslide victory by the Mahayuti.
The Mahayuti, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP, won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the November 20 polls, while the MVA managed just 46 seats.Talking to reporters, Pawar said elections were conducted recently in the country, and there is a restlessness among the people about these.
Baba Adhav's agitation represents this restlessness, he said.
He said, "There is a murmur among the people that the recent polls in Maharashtra saw 'misuse of power' and 'floods of money', which was never seen in the past. Such things are heard of in local-level polls, but taking over the entire election mechanism with the help of money and misuse of power was not seen before. However, we witnessed it in Maharashtra, and people are restless now."
He added that people were recalling late socialist ideologue Jaiprakash Narayan and felt somebody should take a step forward.
"I heard Baba Adhav has taken a lead into this issue and is agitating at Phule Wada. His protest gives hope to the people, but it is not enough. A mass revolt is necessary, as the danger of the parliamentary democracy getting destroyed looms," Pawar said.
The former Union minister said those who have reins of the country in their hands are least bothered about this.
"Despite widespread discussion over it (alleged misuse of EVMs) in the country, whenever the opposition tries to raise the issue in the Parliament, they are not allowed to speak. Opposition leaders have been seeking an opportunity to speak on these issues for six days, but their demands have not been accepted even once. It shows they want to attack parliamentary democracy," he claimed.
He said Dr Adhav's protest is a fine example of someone revolting against the issue and expressed confidence that his protest will create a ripple effect.
