The BJP on Tuesday snubbed Sakshi Maharaj, the party MP from Unnao, for his controversial “Hindu women must produce four children” remark, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi getting upset over Hindutva hardliners diverting the focus and energy of his government.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told a news channel on Tuesday about Modi’s annoyance, but stressed the prime minister was fully concentrating on development.
Modi’s problems from his own party men is far from over.
The party might have been able to silence Sakshi Maharaj, but the move seems to have failed to deliver the message of not speaking out of turn to party leaders and cadre.
Now, 5 kids remark
West Bengal BJP leader Shyamal Goswami stirred controversy on Tuesday by going a step further. The party vice-president of Birbhum said “Hindu women should have five children” to protect the “Sanatan Dharma”.
Sakshi Maharaj had been issued a show-cause notice on Monday asking him to explain why action should not be taken against him for the anti-women comment.
Maharaj, however, told reporters he had not received it, and tried to play it down by saying that it was an internal matter of the party.
“I have just come to Delhi. If a notice was sent, my office would have received it. It is a ‘ghar ka maamla’(internal matter). Why is the media intruding?” he said on Tuesday morning.
Maharaj had called Mahatma Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse a “martyr”, which had snowballed into a major controversy and gave the Opposition ammunition to target Modi.
After a brief lull in conversion activities following the BJP’s back-channel appeal to Hindutva affiliates not to indulge in any activities that embarrasses the Centre, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has decided to hold a “Virat Hindu Sammelan” in the national capital on March 1.
The event is likely to generate heat again, given the fact that contentious issues, including religious conversion, would be taken up for discussion by Hindu seers and RSS leaders.
DH News Service
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