A video of a woman being inappropriately touched on stage in the presence of Congress’ Deepender Hooda and other leaders has created fresh trouble for the Congress.
Sharing an undated video, the BJP used the incident to allege that the rival party’s “Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon” slogan is mere rhetoric. Trouble for the Congress grew further after the party’s prominent Dalit face and chief ministerial candidate Kumari Selja said the woman told her that “someone had misbehaved with her”.
The video shows a hand coming from behind and moving towards the woman standing next to Deepender Hooda. A Congress member immediately pushes the hand away. The short clip is playing on a loop in the video shared by the BJP.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also stressed that they will take action if any complaint is lodged.
“They do not respect anyone, including women, the poor and the Dalits. It is in their culture and DNA. If we get any application in this regard, we will take action. Our government will take strict action and will not spare anyone. Women are an integral part of society,” he said.
The incident took place at a time when polling is about to end in Haryana. The BJP is trying to score a hattrick while the Congress is hoping for a comeback in the state.
Kumari Selja, who spoke to the woman, condemned the incident and said action should be taken against those involved.
“I spoke to her, she told me that some people were touching her and trying to remove her from the stage. We saw the same in the video and when I confirmed this with her, she told me that someone misbehaved with her. If something like this happens to a woman today, it is highly condemnable. Action should be taken on this,” Ms Selja said.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also posted on Twitter and called the incident “most shocking”.
“A female Congress leader was molested on stage by Congress leaders in the presence of Deepender Hooda. News reports and even Kumari Selja have confirmed this. If women are not safe at Congress meetings in public during the day – can they be safe when the Congress is in power?” Mr Poonawalla said.
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