Sukhbir Singh Gunapuria, a former MP and MLA of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan, allegedly refused to give blankets to Muslim women during the donation drive. As HT reported earlier, the former MP had reclaimed the blankets from Muslim women, saying that “those who abuse Modi” had no right to the blankets.
“Listen to me, those who abuse (Prime Minister) Modi have no right to take (the blankets). I can’t help if you feel bad about it.” he was allegedly heard saying in a video that surfaced on social media on Sunday.
Speaking to HT, Sukaran Khan, one of the women who was refused a blanket, said the BJP leader “felt offended” when he heard a Muslim name.
She told reporters: “He was giving blankets to everyone. But suddenly, he asked his employees to ask for our names. We told him our names. He felt insulted because we are Muslims. He took our blankets back immediately.”
While the BJP leader’s video has been edited, an uncut version was shared by Congress MP Harish Chandra Meena.
The video shows the BJP leader asking the women’s names and, after learning that they are Muslims, asking his aides not to give them blankets.
Gunaporiya is then seen asking the women to leave the place and saying that he does not care if the women feel “bad”. The BJP has not yet commented on the matter.
“It doesn’t matter if you feel bad. They will take the blanket and later boast that they cheated us. Why are you arguing? There is no need for any argument. This is not a government scheme. It is a personal arrangement,” the former Tonk Sawai Madhopur MP was heard saying.
In the uncut version of the video, some people confronted the former BJP MP over his refusal to give blankets to Muslim women.
They were seen telling him that the women had waited for hours before being asked to leave empty-handed, to which Singh replied that he did not want to argue before leaving the place.
