Controversy continues to surround BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri after a video surfaced online on Sunday, January 12, showing him making insensitive remarks to parents at a school.
“Why did you give birth to children?” the Kalkaji constituency candidate for the upcoming Delhi elections is heard replying in the video when worried parents complain to him about increasing school fees and appeal for his help.
Later, while speaking to reporters, the distressed while visibly angry parents question political parties about their double standards during election times.
“During election time, these politicians appear on our doorsteps requesting to vote for them,” said one parent.
“Should we ask politicians whether to have children or not?” said another parent.
I am dedicated to BJP: Ramesh Bidhuri
Earlier in the day, Bhiduri refuted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal’s claims of him being BJP’s chief ministerial face and termed it as a ‘false propaganda against him.’
“The party (BJP) has given me a lot, I have no claim for any post. Arvind Kejriwal has continuously started misleading propaganda against me. I want to clarify that I am not a claimant for any post,” he said in a statement in Hindi.
“I am as dedicated to the BJP as I am to the people. Talking about the post of chief minister to me is completely baseless. I will continue to work continuously as your servant,” Bidhuri said.
Ramesh Bidhuri is pitted against current Delhi chief minister Atishi Singh in the Delhi Assembly elections.
“By making an announcement in my context, Arvind Kejriwal has accepted that the BJP government is coming to power in Delhi and he has accepted his defeat because it is well known that the people of Delhi are widely angry with him. The people want to get rid of liquor scam, education scam, health scam, Sheeshmahal scam, broken roads, dirty drinking water etc,” Bidhuri added.
What did Kejriwal say
On January 11, the AAP chief threw a challenge to Ramesh Bidhuri for a public debate. “We are getting information that Ramesh Bidhuri’s name will be officially announced as the BJP CM face in the coming one or two days. I congratulate Ramesh Bidhuri on becoming the CM face of BJP,” the former Delhi chief minister had said.
Union home minister Amit Shah responded to Kejriwal saying it is not upto AAP to decide BJP’s CM face. “Can Kejriwal decide the BJP’s chief ministerial face? Who is he to make such claims?” said Mr Shah while addressing a ‘Jhuggi Basti Pradhan Sammelan’.
Controversial Ramesh Bhiduri
In September 2023, Ramesh Bidhuri made headlines after he made derrogative qand Islamophobic remarks against Amroha MP Danish Ali during the Monsoon Session in the Parliament.
His comments included the statement, “Ye mulla aatankwadi hai, bahar pheko naa iss mulle ko” (Throw this ‘mullah’ out).
Not just Islamophobic, but Bidhuri has time and again made sexist comments on women representatives in the Parliament. The latest was during the Delhi election campaign in Rohini where he said he will make the roads of the constituency as smooth as “Priyanka Gandhi’s cheeks” if he wins his seat.
Bidhuri also left misoginist remarks on AAP candidate and Delhi CM Atishi Singh after she dropped her surname from Marlena to Singh.
“Marlena has become Singh… She has changed her father. She was Marlena earlier, but has become Singh now,” he had said sparking a huge row.
In 2017, Bidhuri targeted senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi by raking up her Italian connection while countering Congress’s charge of ‘non-performance’ of the Modi government.
“Italy me aise sanskar hote honge k, shadi k 5-7 mahine bad pota ya poti bhi aa jaye, Bhartiya sanskriti me al sanskar nahi hai,” (a grandchild may be born within 5-7 months in Italy but in our culture, it doesn’t work that way)”, he had said.
Bidhuri even pulled BSP chief Mayawati into his ‘Italian’ remarks. “Aise sanskar Congress me ya Mayawati ji k ghar me hote honge… Bhartiya sanskriti me aise sanskar nahi hai” (This kind of culture would either be in Mayawati’s home or Congress family but it’s not in the Indian culture)”, he had stated.
In 2015, Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan officially complained to then Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan about Bidhuri’s ‘abusive’ language against her as soon as the House was adjourned for the day.
“He has been abusive with me at least three to four times earlier as well. There was this instance during the Budget speech discussion when I talked of the need to give benefits to single women and he turned around saying I should divorce my husband first and then such benefits can be given to me. Today also, his jibes continued. I have been ignoring this for a while but he is using language against women that is unbecoming of an MP,” she said.
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