New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came down heavily on Congress after party leader Ajoy Kumar's "evil philosophy" remark on NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and demanded that the grand-old-party must apologise to the entire tribal community.

Speaking to ANI, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Wednesday said that Murmu has risen from the grassroots and Kumar's remark is an insult to her.

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"What is evil about the philosophy about somebody who has struggled against the circumstances, got elected from the grassroots, served as the MLA, won the best MLA award, and has not a single stain of corruption on her. What is the evil in it?" Poonawalla asked.

"The language used by the Congress party especially Ajoy Kumar that she (Murmu) represents an evil philosophy and that she does not symbolize the Adivasi community is not just an insult of Droupadi Murmu, her struggles in life but the way she has risen from grassroots but an insult of the entire Adivasi community. The Congress party must explain or else they must apologize for the statement that they have made insulting not just Droupadi Murmuji but the entire Adivasi community," he added.

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Congress-led Opposition parties former union minister Yashwant Sinha has fielded against Murmu for the presidential elections on July 18.

If elected, Droupadi Murmu will be the first tribal President of India and the country's second female President. She was the first woman governor of Jharkhand (from 2015 to 2021). Born in a poor tribal family in the village of Mayurbhanj, a backward district in Odisha, Murmu completed her studies despite challenging circumstances.

Ajoy Kumar on Tuesday stirred a row saying that NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu represents a "very evil philosophy of India" and should not be made a "symbol of Adivasi".

"It's not about Droupadi Murmu. Yashwant Sinha is also a good candidate and Murmu is also a decent person. But she represents a very evil philosophy of India. We should not make her a symbol of 'Adivasi'. We have President Ram Nath Kovind, Hathras happened. Has he said a word? The condition of Scheduled Castes has become worse," Kumar said.

Sharing a video of Kumar's remarks on Twitter, BJP's IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya wrote, "At a time when the NDA, led by PM Modi, has announced Smt Draupadi Murmu, a woman from Adivasi samaj, as it's nominee for the President's office, a move that will significantly empower the Tribals, Congress leader calls her evil by association! Just because she is a Tribal. Shame."

Following this, Ajoy Kumar alleged that the BJP IT cell is spreading a fabricated video to defame him.

"It is a shame that BJP IT cell is spreading a fabricated video to defame me. I don't care what these trollers say or spread, I want BJP to answer to our Dalit brothers and sisters what they have done for Dalit people," Kumar tweeted.

"There have been countless atrocities on our Dalit population but our Prime Minister has always kept silence. What about Hathras, what about the beating of a Dalit woman in Madhya Pradesh, what about Karakthal village in Ahmedabad, where a Dalit youth was beaten up for daring to keep a moustache," he said in another tweet. (ANI)

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