BJP Reprimands Ram Kadam, Asks Him to Stay Away From Media After 'Kidnap Girls' Remark
The party has been facing wrath since Kadam made the controversial remark at a 'dahi handi' event.
Mumbai, Sep 6: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reportedly reprimanded its Ghatkopar MP Ram Kadam after he publicly threatened to 'abduct' women and bring them to their spurned suitors for marriage. The BJP has asked Ram Kadam to stay away from media interviews and debates on television channels. The party has been facing wrath since Kadam made the controversial remark at a dahi handi event.
Addressing a gathering, Kadam declared that he would abduct girls and bring them to their rejected suitors and provided his phone number as a 'helpline'. "If you have proposed to a girl and she has rejected you, I will help you 100 percent. Come to me with your parents and say that they approve her. Then, I will catch her and bring her to you," Kadam boasted before the gathering.
After the video of the event went viral on Tuesday evening, a cornered Kadam claimed he was quoted out of context and blamed the media for blowing it out of proportion. He also said that he was joking. "I had no intentions to hurt anybody's sentiments. But if I have done so, I regret it. Certain opponents are behind this misunderstanding," Kadam said in a Tuesday night tweet.
Cutting across party lines, political leaders, women's groups and social activists have been slamming the BJP, demanding an unconditional apology, Kadam's resignation from the Assembly and his arrest. Protests were also held in Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Nashik, Pune, Solapur, Osmanabad and other places.
A Pune girl, Minakshi G Patil, also threw an open challenge on social media to Kadam, daring him to "touch" her if he had the guts. "I am throwing the gauntlet, accept it. Let's settle this in person. I will come to Mumbai... Lay a finger on me and leave the rest to me. This is shameful and cheap, such statements have no place in Chhatrapati Shivaji's Maharashtra," she said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 06, 2018 06:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).