New Delhi: While the win in Madhya Pradesh bypolls strengthened the Bharatiya Janata Party's hold in the state, a recent comment by BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao on Monday has triggered a row.
Rao, in charge of Madhya Pradesh, commented that people belonging to Brahmin and Baniya communities are in his "pockets".
Opposition Congress slammed the leader and demanded an apology from him. Rao, however, defended his remark and claimed that the Congress has "distorted" his statement.
Earlier, addressing a press conference in Bhopal at the BJP's state headquarters Monday, Rao 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 that the perception about the BJP has been that it is a political party of "Brahmins-Baniyas", and he was talking about special focus on SCs/STs at a time when the saffron outfit's slogan is "sabka saath, sabka vikas (with all, for everyone's development)".
In response to the question, the BJP leader pointed towards his kurta's pockets and 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", PTI reported.
Rao said the BJP is working towards gaining the trust of all sections of society.
"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.
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 the true sense.
With Rao's statement on Brahmins and Baniyas triggering a controversy, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath lashed out at him and said the BJP gave the slogan "sabka saath sabka vikas" and his party's general secretary is saying the Brahmins and Baniyas are in his pockets.
"This is an insult of these 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.
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.
Later, in a video statement, Rao said the Congress has a habit of "distorting" facts and statements.
The BJP leader said, "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."