Congress should reprimand Priyank Kharge: BJP
New Delhi, Aug 13: The BJP on Saturday asked the Congress to "reprimand" its Karnataka leader Priyank Kharge for his "demeaning" remarks suggesting that women in the state have to give sexual favours for getting jobs.
If a woman from Karnataka wants a job, she will have to get on to the couch and men can land a job only by paying a bribe, Kharge, the son of Congress stalwart Mallikarjun Kharge, had alleged hitting out at the BJP dispensation in Karnataka.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Priyank Kharge for the "absolutely appalling statement demeaning to women".
The National Commission for Women should question him, he said.
Noting that the Congress is headed by a woman leader, he said Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should reprimand him for making such an "abhorrent" remark.
The BJP government in Karnataka has become a "Lancha-Mancha Sarkara" (bribe and couch government), Kharge, a former state minister, had said in Kannada at a press conference on Friday.
He was referring to Ramesh Jarkiholi's resignation as Water Resources Minister over his alleged involvement in a sex-for-job scandal.
Another BJP MLA K S Eshwarappa resigned as minister after a civil contractor died by suicide alleging that the former had demanded 40 per cent commission for execution of public work.
In this government, you have to shell out money to get a government job. In the past, two ministers of this government have resigned, Kharge said.
The state BJP also hit back at Kharge, saying he should first look inside his party.
The stories of the colourful nightlife of the Congress leaders are not mere hearsay. There are many secret CDs available, it tweeted.
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
