On Tuesday (November 9), several media houses claimed that BJP leader P Muralidhar Rao said that the party has complete control over Brahmins and Baniyas in the country. One of the media houses which peddled the same was NDTV.
Besides NDTV, ABP News and Amar Ujala too made such outlandish claims. The said comment was made by P Muralidhar Rao during a press conference held in Bhopal on Monday (November 8). Since the media houses published it without highlighting the context, it created an upheaval in political spheres.
The Truth behind the ‘Brahmin-Baniya in pocket’ claim
A complete video of the media interaction of the BJP leader was published on Twitter by popular user and activist Ankur Singh. During the press conference, a journalist asked, “BJP has been known as a Brahmin-Bania party till now. Should we start calling it SC-ST-OBC party?” In response to the skewed question posed by the journalist, P Muralidhar Rao remarked, “I have Brahmin and Baniya in my pocket…When our leaders and voters were Brahmins, you called us the Brahmin party. When there was a Baniya, you called us Baniya party.”
The BJP leader was again interrupted by the journalist, who then asked him to run the party on the agenda of ‘development.’ P Muralidhar Rao clarified, “When I started the party, I did so for all sections of the society. At that time, we had the support of some sections of society. Journalists would then write that the party belonged to that particular section of the society. We did not change our roots based on what you wrote.”
A Journalist called BJP Brahmin-Bania party, @PMuralidharRao was just answering it in the language they understand. Was interrupted and then statement twisted.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) November 9, 2021
Check full statement on what he actually meant. https://t.co/Sc2dKxYqHu pic.twitter.com/tV425Odedm
He added that due to a low representation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes in BJP, the party was making endeavours to increase their representation and give the impression that is a party for all. “We are not leaving Brahmins, Baniyas or other sections to mould ourselves to accommodate anyone.” P Muralidhar Rao also pointed out that earlier the media would label the BJP as a ‘Delhi-based party’ and even a local party. He implied that in spite of all labels based on caste and region, BJP will continue to remain a party for every citizen of India.
