- Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria refused blankets to Muslim women during a distribution drive
- He said those who abuse PM Modi have no right to receive blankets
- Congress MP Harish Chandra Meena condemned Singh's actions as shameful and inhuman
Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria, BJP leader and former MP from Rajasthan's Tonk Sawai Madhopur, is drawing criticism over a video that shows him turning away Muslim women during a blanket distribution drive. Singh, who was MP from 2014 to 2024, is heard telling the women that those who abuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi have no right to blankets.
The video shows Singh distributing blankets among a group of women. He asks one of them her name. When she gives a Muslim name, he asks his aides not to give her the blanket. He then says, "Listen to me, those who abuse (Prime Minister) Modi have no right to take (blankets). I can't help if you feel bad about it." He is then seen asking them to vacate the place.
Later in the video, some people are seen confronting the BJP leader over refusing blankets to Muslim women. They are seen telling him the women had been waiting for hours before being asked to leave empty-handed. Singh replied that he did not want to argue before leaving the spot. Singh has claimed that he was distributing blankets in a personal capacity and no government funds were used.
Harish Chandra Meena, currently the Congress MP from Tonk Sawai Madhopur, shared the video and said Singh's conduct was condemnable and reflected a thought that would destroy the nation's social fabric.
"Distributing blankets after asking names of poor, helpless women and taking them back depending on their religion is shameful and inhuman," he said in a post on X.
People elect public representatives so that they treat everyone equally, he said. "Did the Prime Minister tell the former MP not to help those who do not vote for him and his party? If this is the case, why is the government running programmes for the minorities?"
Condemning the former MP's act, Meena said it is a slap on the face of humanity and an insult to the Constitution. he urged Prime Minister Modi to take action against Singh.
Supriya Shrinate, chairperson for Congress's social media wing, shared the video and said the former MP is petty. "People were right in protesting. They should have thrown the blanket on his face," she said on X.
The viral video is likely to raise a storm in the Rajasthan Assembly, where the budget session is on. Tonk is the constituency of Sachin Pilot, former Deputy Chief Minister and among the top Congress leaders in the state and the opposition party will surely try to corner the Bhajan Lal Sharma government over Singh's video.
