BJP leader's 'Brahmins & Baniyas are in my pockets' remark sparks row, Congress demands apology

Bhopal: Bharatiya Janata Party's Madhya Pradesh in-charge Murlidhar Rao on Monday stoked a controversy by saying that he keeps Baniya (business community) and Brahmans (priest community) in his pockets.

In response to the controversial remarks, the Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath lashed out at him and said it was an insult of the aforementioned sections as the BJP is claiming its right over them.

"What kind of respect is given to these classes whose leaders have played an important role in building the BJP? BJP leaders have become arrogant due to power," he said.

Mr Nath said the BJP should seek an apology from these communities. "A party which talk about sabka saath, sabka vikas is now focusing on certain sections for power," he said.

Addressing a press conference in Bhopal at the BJP's state headquarters, Rao had said the party and its governments are going to have a special focus on scheduled tribes and scheduled castes, not as vote-banks but to address their concern over backwardness, employment, and education.

Later, during a question-answer session, journalists asked Rao about the perception that the BJP is a political party of "Brahmins-Baniyas" and that he was talking about special focus on SCs/STs at a time when the party's slogan is "sabka saath, sabka vikas" (with all, for everyone's development).

In reply, the BJP leader, while pointing towards his kurta's pockets, said, "Brahmins and Baniyas are in my pockets.... You (media people) termed us a Brahmin and Baniya party when most workers and vote bank were from these sections."

"When the number of people belonging to certain sections was higher, people used to say the party belongs to them. We are working to add more people from the SC/ST sections in our party after finding their lower representation. We are reaching out to all and making the BJP a party for every section," he said.

Mr Rao said the BJP is not leaving out any section, including Brahmins and Baniyas, from its representation, but only including those who were left out to become a national party in true sense.

After a 6-second video of the BJP leader's controversial remark surfaced on social media and was shared by several leaders of opposition, Rao in a video statement said the Congress has a habit of "distorting" facts and statements.

"We don't discriminate among sections of the society. All Indians should be part of development. The Congress betrayed and divided all sections of the society. If STs are backward, the only reason is that the Congress has done injustice to them," he said.