Bhubaneswar: Two BJP leaders – Union minister Maneka Gandhi and BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj – have been caught on camera threatening voters to vote for them or face the consequences.
Union minister Maneka Gandhi told Muslims in Sultanpur, from where she is contesting, to vote for her or else she may not be inclined to pay heed to their requests, while Sakshi Maharaj, an MP, threatened to curse voters if they did not vote for him.
Maneka said she would win the Lok Sabha seat with or without Muslim support. “Logon ke pyaar se mein jeet rahin hun lekin agar meri jeet Musalmaanon ke bina hogi toh mujhe bahot accha nahi lagega kyunki itna mein bata deti hun ki phir dil khatta ho jata hai (I am going to win because of public support, but if I win without the support of Muslims, I won’t be very happy because then there is some bitterness),” she is seen as saying in the video. “Phir jab Musalmaan aata hai kaam ke liye phir mein sochti hun ki nahi rehne hi do, kya fark padta hai. Akhir naukri ek saudebaazi bhi toh hoti hai. Baat sahi hai ki nahi? Aisa nahi hai ki hum sab Mahatma Gandhi ki aulaad hain, ki bass dete hi jaayenge aur elections mein maar khaate hi jaayenge. (When Muslims come to me with some request, I feel let it be, how does it matter. After all job is a barter. Isn’t it true? It isn’t like I am Mahatma Gandhi’s descendent that I will keep on giving and keep on being ignored during polls.”
She went on to say that she would check results in Sultanpur booth, whether it shows 100 votes or 50 votes. “Then we will see when you come for any work,” she said.
Sakshi Maharaj, the monk, didn’t confine his threat to any particular community. “I am a sanyasi (monk) and I am here to beg at your door, if you refuse a sanyasi, I would take away the happiness of your family and will curse you,” he said.
