Some people in BJP need to speak less, says Union minister Gadkari
Mumbai, Dec 19: Some people in the BJP need to speak less, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said here Wednesday.
Politicians in general need to be more economical while speaking to media, the senior BJP leader said during an interaction at the Republic Summit.
Asked what prompted the BJP to hold as many as 70 press conferences in a day on the Rafale jet purchase issue, Gadkari said, "We have so many leaders, and we so like to speak before the (TV journalists) boom, so we have to give them some work."
Gadkari recalled a scene from Bollywood film "Bombay to Goa" (1972) where parents of a voracious child cover his mouth with a piece of cloth to stop him from eating.
"There is a need for such a cloth (to be put on the mouth) for some people in our (party)," the BJP leader said.
Asked if people who needed such a "gag order" included those who talked about the caste of Hanuman or Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's gotra, Gadkari said he was "joking".
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said at a poll rally that Hanuman was a Dalit, while UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey had mocked Rahul Gandhi's Italian lineage and said his gotra was "Gotra Itlus".
"See, I was joking," Gadkari told the interviewer.
Gadkari said neither he nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi give sound bytes to media after an event.
"Politicians should have little less interaction with the media and this (policy) is required (to be followed) a little bit more in the BJP," said the Union minister, known for his candour.
Referring to the Congress' demand that the Rafale purchase be probed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, Gadkari asked if the JPC is bigger than the Supreme Court. Most of the charges the Congress levelled "had no relevance" and it is better not to reply to them, the minister added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Chakankar's resignation forwarded to CM Fadnavis, says Sunetra Pawar
_vb_90.jpeg)
Mumbai (PTI): NCP chief and Maharashtra deputy CM Sunetra Pawar on Saturday said she has forwarded Rupali Chakankar's resignation as state women's commission chairperson to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for acceptance.
Chakankar, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, on Friday tendered her resignation after facing flak from opposition parties over her association with rape-accused 'godman' Ashok Kharat.
Following a meeting with CM Fadnavis, who asked her to step down, she handed the resignation letter personally to Sunetra Pawar late in the evening.
"Chakankar has tendered her resignation considering the current circumstances and ongoing investigation. To ensure that the probe is conducted in a fair and transparent manner, I have forwarded her resignation to the Chief Minister for further process," Pawar said in a statement.
Appointed as chairperson of the Maharashtra State Women's Commission first in October 2021, Chakankar was given another three-year term in 2024.
Kharat, who heads a temple trust at Sinnar and had several political leaders visit him over the years, was arrested by Nashik Police on Wednesday for allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulting a woman.
As per the complainant, he called her to his office sometime in 2022 after her marriage, claiming that his astrological predictions point to a threat to her husband’s life and she needed to perform certain rituals to ward it off. He then gave her a sedative-laced drink and raped her, the woman alleged, claiming that he raped her multiple times over the next three years.
_vb_09.jpeg)
