2 hours agoWriters: Ashish Urmalia
BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal have been suspended from the party for their remarks on Prophet Mohammad. It is believed that the BJP has done this under pressure after opposing Islamic countries like Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Here we are going to tell you 5 such cases, in which BJP had to come on the back foot and under pressure had to expel its leaders from the party. Let us know one by one…
1. The BJP leader had called Mahatma Gandhi the Father of the Nation of Pakistan
In the last round of Lok Sabha elections 2019, BJP spokesperson Anil Soumitra had called Mahatma Gandhi the Father of the Nation of Pakistan. Commenting on a Facebook post on May 16, Anil wrote, ‘Mahatma Gandhi was the father of the nation, but of the nation of Pakistan. There were crores of sons like him in the nation of India. Some worth and some worthless.’ There was a ruckus on social media after this comment. The BJP had to suspend Soumitra from the party the next day, i.e. on May 17, 2019.
On May 16, 2019, Anil Soumitra, who made a controversial post about Mahatma Gandhi, has become a professor in IIMC.
In fact, before this statement, leaders like Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Union Minister Anant Hegde and MP Naleen Kateel had rightly told Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, in their statements. After this the BJP was badly surrounded. So the party had to take immediate action against Anil Saumitra. Then Prime Minister Modi himself had openly condemned Sadhvi Pragya’s statement and said that I will never be able to forgive her from my heart.
2. The leader who made indecent remarks on Mayawati had to be suspended
In July, 6 months before the 2017 UP assembly elections, State Vice President of UP BJP Daya Shankar Singh made a comment on BSP supremo Mayawati regarding ticket distribution. Daya Shankar had said, ‘The way Mayawati is bargaining, in this way even a prostitute does not do her profession.’ After this statement made in Mau, there was a ruckus. BSP workers protested. An FIR was lodged against Daya Shankar under the SC / ST Act, Mayawati herself had demanded the removal of Daya Shankar from the party in the Rajya Sabha.
Minister of State for Independent Charge of Uttar Pradesh Dayashankar Singh with his wife Swati Singh.
BJP expelled Daya Shankar from the party for 6 years within 24 hours. Seeing the ruckus increasing, the police arrested Daya Shankar. However, he was released on bail after 10 days. Then in 2017, BJP made his wife Swati Singh an MLA by giving ticket and also made him a minister. The party also withdrew the suspension of Daya Shankar after coming to power in the same year. Presently Daya Shankar is a minister in the state government. In the recently held 2022 assembly elections, he has won the legislative assembly from Ballia Nagar.
3. Removed the leader who declared a reward of 11 lakhs for Jitan Ram’s tongue
In the month of December 2021, former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had made indecent remarks against Hinduism and Brahmins. After this the Brahmins fiercely opposed him. He was also opposed in MP including Bihar and FIRs were lodged against him.
Even after expulsion from BJP, Gajendra remained firm on his controversial statement for several days.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Gajendra Jha made the announcement by taking the help of Facebook. He said, if a Brahmin’s son brings a manjhi’s tongue cut off, he will give him Rs 11 lakh as a reward. Along with this, he will also feed him for the rest of his life. Within two days of this statement, the BJP expelled Gajendra Jha from the party and asked for an explanation within 15 days.
4. Unnao rape convict MLA had to be suspended
On June 4, 2017, Kuldeep Sengar, then MLA, was accused of kidnapping and raping a minor girl. On April 3, 2018, the MLA’s brother assaulted the girl’s father. On April 4, 2018, the girl’s father was arrested for illegally possessing a weapon. Four days later, the girl tried to commit self-immolation in front of the Chief Minister’s residence. A day after that, i.e. on April 9, the girl’s father died in police custody. The case was handed over to the CBI.
Kuldeep Singh Sengar, considered to be Bahubali, is currently serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail.
A year has passed since all this happened. Kuldeep Sengar was considered guilty in the revelations being made during the CBI investigation. Despite this, he remained an MLA from the BJP. The party did not expel him. The BJP expelled Kuldeep from the party on July 30, 2019, after the matter gained a lot of traction. On December 16, the court convicted Kuldeep and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Since then, Kuldeep is in jail.
5. The MLA who danced with a pistol in his mouth was suspended
On July 2019, a video of Uttarakhand BJP MLA Pranav Singh Champion had gone viral. In the purported video, he was seen dancing with a gun in both his hands. In the midst of the dance, he had also kept a pistol in his mouth.
Former MLA Pranav Singh Champion remains in the news for his controversial statements and exploits.
The BJP suspended him from the party within 14 hours of the video going viral. However, after 1 year in the month of August, he was back in the party.
Suspension in politics means cooling the matter
Usually people consider suspension as punishment, whereas in politics, after suspension, only answer or say, explanation is sought from the concerned person. Later, seeing the atmosphere, that person is given a place back in the party within a few days. You must have read above that BJP had suspended minister Daya Shankar Singh for 6 years, but after coming to power, the party called him back within a year. Similar happened in many other cases also.
Talking about expulsion, it is taken a bit serious in politics. Political parties show the way out to any incumbent only when the matter has gone over the head, as in the case of Kuldeep Singh Sengar.