Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ram Kadam, who boasted about kidnapping girls if they refuse proposals from young men, has been shunted out from the party’s panel of spokespersons.
A senior BJP leader, who did not wish to be named, said Mr. Kadam has been asked to not attend debate shows on television channels and address the press on behalf of the party.
On Thursday evening, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad protested against Mr. Kadam, raising eyebrows in political circles. The BJP, which has been keeping quiet, seems to be crumbling under pressure from all quarters to take action against Mr. Kadam, MLA from Ghatkopar West constituency.
Sources in the BJP confirmed that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had asked Mr. Kadam to not appear on electronic media, but he was seen on two news channels on Wednesday. Mr. Kadam, while addressing crowd at his Ghatkopar dahi handi on Monday, said, “If you propose a girl and she denies, you come to me with your parents. If they too like the girl, what will I do? I will kidnap her and give her to you.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Kadam expressed ‘regret’ over his statements. As criticism mounted for his ‘arrogant’ explanation, he later apologised on Twitter.
Meanwhile, a day after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray appealed to all parties to not give him ticket for the next elections, party Rajya Sabha MP Sanajy Raut said an all-party resolution should be brought in to suspend Mr. Kadam from the Assembly.
Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said Mr. Kadam, instead of Twitter, must come out in public to apologise. “The way the police are refusing to file a complaint against him, it is clear that the BJP is trying to protect the MLA.”
Bala Padelkar, president, Dahihandi Coordination Committee, said all dahi handi groups strongly disapprove of Mr. Kadam’s derogatory statements and none of the groups will participate in the MLA’s dahi handi in 2019.
