New Delhi:
BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri has kicked up another controversy with his comments, this time over the name of Delhi Chief Minister Atishi.
Mr Bidhuri is contesting the Delhi Assembly elections from the Kalkaji constituency, which is currently represented by Atishi of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
At a meeting in Delhi's Rohini on Sunday, Mr Bidhuri raised the issue of Atishi's surname change – an issue that has also been controversial in the past, especially during the campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when Atishi came from Lok Sabha constituency in East Delhi contested.
Atishi lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to the BJP's Gautam Gambhir by a margin of over 4.7 lakh votes.
Bidhuri had just expressed regret over another “sexist” comment on Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra when he was hit by the Atishi row this evening.
In an undated video, the BJP leader was heard saying that the party would make all roads in south Delhi's Kalkaji as the 'cheeks of Priyanka Gandhi' if voted to power.
Mr Bidhuri later told news agency ANI that his comments about Priyanka Gandhi were made in the context of comments made by former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav, who years ago reportedly said he would make Bihar's roads “as smooth as the cheeks of Hema Malini”. .
Although Lalu Yadav's one-liner has been repeatedly referenced over the years, in 2010 he denied ever saying it and accused his rivals of wrongly attributing the comment to him.
However, Mr Bidhuri offered to take back his words.
“Such statements have been made before. I have said that in the context of what Lalu Yadav had said. Congress was silent on that even when he [Lalu Yadav] was a minister in their government. If anyone is hurt by my comment, I express my regret and take back my words,” the BJP leader said.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal criticized Bidhuri and said the BJP and its leaders have crossed all lines of 'shamelessness'.
“BJP leaders are hurling abuses at Delhi Chief Minister Atishi ji. The people of Delhi will not tolerate the insult of a woman Prime Minister. All women in Delhi will take revenge for this,” Kejriwal said in a post on X.
BJP has a strong record when it comes to I think I have done well I think I can do that
I think I did a good job. I think I did a good job. I think I did a good job
–@PKakkar_ pic.twitter.com/r3ZNTpOE83
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) January 5, 2025
The AAP said in a statement that Bidhuri's “offensive comments” against a woman prime minister exposed the BJP's “anti-women” mentality.
“If he behaves like this now, imagine the treatment that ordinary women would face if he accidentally becomes an MLA,” the AAP said in a statement.
The Assembly elections in Delhi are likely to take place in February. The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 consecutive years, failed to win a single seat in the last two assembly elections in the national capital. The AAP won 62 of the 70 seats in the 2020 Assembly elections and the BJP got eight.