Following an uproar over key Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader Pritam Singh Lodhi’s controversial statement against Brahmins and women last week, the Madhya Pradesh BJP expelled him for six years on August 19. The controversy, however, refuses to die down with the expulsion, or even an FIR that Mr. Lodhi faces for the statements.
Mr. Lodhi — who earlier said he was apologising to the community and was even willing to place his head at their feet — is now on the offensive. He flexed his muscles with a show of support in Gwalior on Saturday, a day after the expulsion. Addressing his supporters, he said that his fight was for the downtrodden and that he was “ready to spill the last drop of his blood” to continue the fight, even as he questioned the alleged double standards of “influential people”, a reference to Brahmin leaders and the State BJP leadership.
He said that while he faced an FIR for his words that merely intended to explain a point to poor people in the audience, those who threatened him do not face such consequences. “Bagheshwar Dham Sarkar, who openly threatened me in front of his disciples, does not face such prospects. This country cannot have different laws for different persons,” Mr. Lodhi said.
