BJP MLA stirs controversy by comparing MP roads to Om Puri and Sridevi
A BJP MLA has stirred controversy by stating that the condition of roads in Madhya Pradesh during the erstwhile Congress regime was like that of deceased actor Om Puri, whereas under the BJP rule, roads are like late Sridevi.
The remarks sparked outrage and demands for his removal.
MLA Preetam Lodhi made the comment while arriving in a cab at the monsoon session of the state legislative Assembly on Monday.
He said the condition of roads, worsened by rain, had turned roads into “water parks,” and he was unable to travel to the Vidhan Bhavan in his small car due to waterlogging.
“During Digvijaya Singh’s tenure (as MP chief minister), roads were like (cheeks of) Om Puri, while under the BJP, they are like Sridevi,” Lodhi told PTI Videos when questioned about potholes and a recent cave-in incident in Bhopal.
The face of Om Puri who died in 2017 at 66, was scarred by a bout of smallpox in childhood. Sridevi passed away in 2018 at the age of 54.
The remarks by the Pichhore MLA drew sharp criticism from MP Congress women’s wing president Vibha Patel, who condemned the comment as indecent and disrespectful toward a deceased woman. She demanded that Lodhi either apologise or be dismissed by his party.
“BJP MLAs have become habituated to insulting women. Our brave women were insulted during Operation Sindoor," she said, apparently referring to controversial remarks made by the state’s senior minister, Kunwar Vijay Shah, against Colonel Sophia Qureshi, the face of the official briefings during Operation Sindoor.
“The amount of training BJP leaders receive on culture and etiquette notwithstanding, the power-drunk leaders keep on insulting women. If the MLA does not apologise and if the BJP fails to sack him, we will take to the streets and won’t let these MLAs sit in peace," she added.
Separately, the Supreme Court on Monday pulled up Minister Shah for not issuing a public apology over his remarks against Col Qureshi, saying he is testing the court’s patience.
On May 19, the top court chided Shah and constituted the SIT to probe the FIR lodged against him.
Shah came under fire after a video, which was circulated widely, showed him allegedly making objectionable remarks against Col Qureshi, who gained nationwide prominence along with another woman officer, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, during the media briefings on Operation Sindoor.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court rebuked Shah for passing “scurrilous" remarks and using “language of the gutters" against Col Qureshi, and ordered police to file an FIR against him on the charge of promoting enmity and hatred.
After drawing severe condemnation, Shah expressed regret and said that he respects Col Qureshi more than his sister.
Madhya Pradesh