‘Brahmins, Baniyas are in my pockets,’ says BJP leader, Congress criticises remark
P Muralidhar Rao, who is the BJP’s leader in charge in Madhya Pradesh, claimed that his statement had been distorted.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader P Muralidhar Rao on Monday sparked a controversy by saying that the Brahmins and Baniyas (a community of traders and merchants) are “in his pockets”.
Rao, who is the BJP’s leader in charge of Madhya Pradesh, said his party was now beginning to shift focus to the Scheduled Tribes. He was addressing a press briefing in Bhopal.
“Tribals are part and parcel of Indian cultural history and traditions,” Rao said. “BJP stands for this cultural tradition and diversity. The party wants to address the concerns of backwardness, employment, rights and education.”
Yesterday while addressing a PC in Bhopal BJP General secretary @PMuralidharRao said"Brahmins and Baniyas are in my pocket, congress tweeted a 7 second clip which created uproar but he said how BJP will focus on ST-SC not as vote-banks but to address their concern pic.twitter.com/nC3vjQ2rJ7
— Anurag Dwary (@Anurag_Dwary) November 9, 2021
Rao added that the party was coming up with a strategy to address these matters. “By the end of 2022, we will achieve all this and there will no longer be a gap between the tribal society and the BJP,” Rao added.
The BJP leader said that his party will also focus on reaching out to the Scheduled Castes. “Our commitment is social and cultural,” Rao added.
When asked about the perception that the BJP is a party of the “Brahmins and Baniyas”, Rao said: “Meri jeb mein Brahmin hai, aur mere jeb mein Baniya hai [Brahmins and Baniyas are in my pockets],” the BJP leader said in response. “You [journalists] called us a ‘Brahmin and Baniya party’ when most workers and the voters were from these communities.”
Rao said that the BJP is working to win the trust of all sections of society.
The BJP leader’s comments drew criticism from Congress leader Kamal Nath, who accused of him insulting the Brahmin and Baniya communities.
“What kind of respect is given to those classes whose leaders played an important role in building the BJP?” Nath asked. “BJP leaders have become intoxicated with power. The BJP leadership should immediately apologise to the Brahmin and Baniya communities.”
After Nath’s rebuke, Rao claimed that his comments had been distorted. “The Congress betrayed all sections of the society,” he alleged. “The party has done injustice to the Scheduled Tribes.”
But Rao said that the BJP has been a party for everyone. “Brahmins, Baniyas and Scheduled Tribes are all Indians and they should be an integral part of the country’s progress,” he said. ‘We have never discriminated among communities.”