left embarrassed after the party’s Rudrapur MlA Rajkumar Thukral sparked off a row by allegedly beating members of a Dalit family, the State party brass swung into damage control and slapped the MlA with a show- cause notice on Sunday. It is learnt that directed by the State party chief Ajay Bhatt, the State general secretary of the party Naresh Bansal served the notice to the MlA. Confirming, Bhatt told The Pioneer that Thukral has been given a period of ten days to file his reply.
He said that the party has also taken cognizance of the viral video purportedly showing the MlA manhandling women. “We have asked him to explain the sequence of things leading to the flare-up and also his role in it,” he said. Notably, on Sunday, the police filed a case under different sections against Thukral.
The saffron party insiders say that the action of the MlA is sure to hurt the party now preparing to face the local body election which is barely a month away. “With the opposition likely to latch to it to dub the party as anti-Dalit and anti-women, we are indeed at the receiving end of things.
Hence the prompt attempt at damage control,” said a BJP leader while insisting on anonymity.
When asked whether the incident would cost the party dear during the upcoming local body election, the BJP state chief Ajay Bhatt said that acts of an individual do not affect the party as a whole.
He however hastened to say that the family which has lodged the FIR against the MlA belongs to OBC and not Scheduled Caste (SC) as being projected.
“Our party firmly believes that the members must put up exemplary behavior while dealing with the people.
The show- cause notice to the MlA clearly shows the importance the party attaches to discipline,” Bhatt said.