New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ramesh BIdhuri sparked another row by his controversial remarks on Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi over her surname. While addressing an election rally in Delhi, Bidhuri said that Atishi "changed her father". The BJP's made the controversial statement amid row over his remark on Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Notably, the BJP leaderi's contesting against the Delhi CM from the Kalkaji Assembly seat in the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025. “This Marlena (Delhi CM Atishi) became Singh. She changed her name. Arvind Kejriwal swore on his children not to form an alliance with the corrupt Congress. Marlena changed her father. This reflects the character of the AAP," Bidhuri said.
Bidhuri further stated that Atishi's parents submitted a mercy petition against the death sentence of Afzal Guru, the mastermind behind the 2001 Parliament attack. I want to ask the people of Delhi whether they want to support those who sought a pardon for Guru’s death sentence," the BJP added.
Kejriwal Slammed Bidhuri:
AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal slammed Bidhuri for his controversial remarks. "BJP leaders have crossed all limits of shamelessness. BJP leaders are abusing Delhi Chief Minister Atishi ji. The people of Delhi will not tolerate the insult of a woman Chief Minister. All the women of Delhi will take revenge for this," Kejriwal said in his X post.
AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar also hit out at Bidhuri. "...Imagine if he becomes an MLA by mistake and imagine the kind of attitude he will have against women. The public of Delhi has extended support to Arvind Kejriwal a lot...Ramesh Bidhuri will lose by a very big margin from Delhi CM Atishi. The women of Delhi will take revenge," she told news agency ANI.
Bishuri's Remarks Against Priyanka Gandhi:
Earlier, the BJP leader said that the saffron party would make roads like "cheeks of Priyanka Gandhi". Giving reference to Lalu Yadav's comments in 2005 on Hema Malini, where the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had said that he would make cheeks like the cheeks of the Bollywood actor, Bishuri made these remarks.
Later, Bidhuri expressed regret over his controversial statement. Speaking to ANI, Bidhuri clarified that his comments were made in the context of remarks by Lalu Yadav and emphasised that the Congress party had remained silent when similar statements were made during his tenure as a minister.
"I have said that in the context of what Lalu Yadav had said. Congress remained silent on that even when he (Lalu Yadav) was a minister in their govt... If anyone is hurt by my remark, I express regret over it and I take my words back," Bidhuri said.
Meanwhile, the Congress also lashed out at the BJP for his remarks on Priyanka Gandhi. Congress MP Shahi Tharoor called it "petty".
"Frankly, I think this is petty. We shouldn't get into these things. To be very honest, what really matters to us is that people should respect each other and not show each other disrespect in politics. We may have disagreements but that doesn't mean there should be any disrespect expressed. I think that people should behave with mutual respect whether they agree with somebody or not. We are not going around saying such things about BJP people, they should not be saying this about our side either," Tharoor told ANI.
The assembly elections in Delhi are likely to be held in February 2025. The Election Commission of India is yet to announce the schedule.
