Amidst a raging controversy over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s use of communal slurs in the Lok Sabha on 21 September against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali, BJP president J P Nadda is said to have met with Bidhuri and sought an explanation on his use of these words.
Bidhuri met with Nadda at the BJP headquarters in the national capital, days after he was issued a show-cause notice by the party for his remarks, and after many Opposition parties including the Congress, and BSP MP Danish Ali himself, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding that Bidhuri’s remarks be referred to the privileges committee. So far, there has been no official word on what transpired in the meeting, but it is particularly significant against the backdrop of the BJP having served a show cause notice to Bidhuri over his remarks. Additionally, this a situation where many BJP MPs including Nishikant Dubey and Sudhanshu Trivedi have written to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging that Ali “instigated” Bidhuri and sought a probe into Ali’s comments in the House as well. The situation within the BJP with regard to Bidhuri is reportedly
a mix of dismay and defensiveness”, with MPs seeking to defend the party, but with the understanding that Mr Bidhuri’s utterances have cast a pall over the actual achievement of the Special Session of Parliament–the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill.