Patna: BJP activists burn Azam Khan’s effigy

PATNA: The Bihar BJP Mahila Morcha functionaries on Monday burned the effigy of Samajwadi Party leader and the party’s candidate Azam Khan from Rampur seat in Uttar Pradesh for making derogatory remarks against his contender and BJP nominee for the seat Jaya Prada.

The Mahila Morcha functionaries and members, assisted by the BJP’s other functionaries, burned the effigy of Khan outside the state BJP headquarters. BJP state vice-president Devesh Kumar was also present on the occasion.

Addressing a public meeting, Khan had used unparliamentary words against cinestar Jaya Prada, tantamount to undermining her political acumen and her recent entry into the BJP. Jaya Prada had earlier won the seat on Samajwadi Party ticket.

The BJP functionaries said Khan’s words used against Jaya Prada “were not only very insulting of her persona, but also demeaned women in general.” They condemned Khan’s attitude towards women, saying it exposed his as well as the Samajwadi Party stance towards women. They appealed to women in Bihar to teach a lesson to the candidates of the Grand Alliance partners by casting votes against them during the parliamentary election.

All-women Mauritian team visits BJP headquarters: A 25-member all-women team from Mauritius led by the country’s former vice-president Sarita Buddhu on Monday visited the state BJP headquarters. The party also organised a cultural programme to welcome them. The 25-member team also included Dhandevi Puneet and Chintamani Guruchar, among others.

Ms Buddhu is not only a Hindi language writer, but also a Bhojpuri and Hindi language enthusiast. She has visited Bihar in the past and also participated in the meets of Bhojpuri-speaking people held in the state. She is the convener of a chain of 50 village schools run in Mauritius.

State BJP general secretary (organization) Nagendra Ji and the party’s state vice-president Devesh Kumar welcomed the Mauritius team at the party’s state headquarters. Nagendra Ji described Buddhu as the representative and patron of the Indian culture. He said people of Bihar origin established themselves by dint of their work, labour and skill. Devesh, in his speech, recalled the relations between India and Mauritius.

For her part, Buddhu briefly recalled the history of indentured labourers who were taken to Mauritius during the second half of the 19th century. She gave a detailed description of the ordeals, pains and tribulations faced by indentured labourers taken to Mauritius from Bihar.