MP LS polls: Congress leader pledges ‘double wives, double aid’, stirs row

Bhopal: Congress veteran and former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria has stirred a row by pledging to provide double aid to the person having two wives when his party formed government at the Centre.

The Congress in its manifesto has promised to provide a financial aid of Rs one lakh per annum to a woman if the party is voted to power in the general elections and those with two wives will get double the amount, he said.

Seventy three-year-old Bhuria made the remarks while addressing a poll rally at Sailana under Ratlam (ST) Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh late on Thursday evening.

His announcement had left the gathering in splits.

Congress veteran and former chief minister Digvijay Singh and state party president Jitu Patwari were also present on the occasion.

In fact, Mr Patwari highly appreciated his suggestion saying that ‘It is a terrific announcement’.

“Bhuria ji has made a terrific declaration just now that a person with two wives will get double (of the Rs one lakh financial aid)”, he said.

The BJP on Friday took strong exception to Mr Bhuria’s announcement, calling it ‘appeasement’ of its vote bank by Congress.

A BJP spokesman here described Mr Bhuria’s statement as ‘insult to women’ and said that it reflected the ‘dirty mindset’ of Congress.

Senior BJP leader Narendra Singh Saluja said that his party would move the Election Commission seeking action in the matter.

In his speech, Mr Bhuria said that BJP never worked for the welfare and rights of the tribals.

He also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of keeping mum over an incident in Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh in which an alleged follower of a BJP leader had urinated on the face of a tribal.