Controversy erupted amidst the Lok Sabha Election campaign as Bhartiya Janta Party’s candidate from West Bengal’s Malda Uttar constituency, Khagen Murmu, kissed a woman on her cheek during the campaign. The incident occurred on Monday when the Lok Sabha candidate was campaigning in Srihipur village, Chanchal, and went viral on Wednesday.
As per the reports, the episode was caught on live stream. It was shared on the BJP candidate’s Facebook page and deleted later. Subsequently, the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state took a swipe at the BJP by dropping a post on X and highlighting the scene. While doing so, the party articulated, “From MPs that sexually harass ween wrestlers to leaders who make obscene songs about Bengali women; BJP camp has no dearth of anti-women politicians. This is how Modi Ka Parivar engages in Nari Ka Samman! Imagine what they would do if they came to power.”
Take a look:
If you cannot believe what you just saw, let us clarify. Yes, this is BJP MP & Maldaha Uttar candidate @khagen_murmu kissing a woman on his own accord on his campaign trail.
From MPs that sexually harass women wrestlers to leaders who make obscene songs about Bengali women, BJP… pic.twitter.com/f0PKdaDDn5
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 9, 2024
Meanwhile, in response to Malda district’s vice president Dulal Sarkar’s condemnation of the incident, Khagen Murgu justified the kiss, stating that the woman is like “his child.” The BJP candidate asserted, “There is nothing wrong with kissing a child. This is a complete grassroots conspiracy. They have such bad values.” Furthermore, he stated that a complaint has been filed against the TMC for defamation about their comments on the incident.
Moreover, during the questioning, the girl defended Khagen Murgu’s actions, criticising those who misinterpreted the gesture as obscene in the viral pictures. “If a man kisses a woman like his own daughter, what is the problem with that? People who are making such incidents viral on social media have a dirty mentality. Khagen Murmu loves me like a daughter. My father and mother were also present when the picture was taken,” the woman said, as quoted by India Today.
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