BJP remark on Lakshmir Bhandar sparks row; TMC terms it 'patriarchal threat'

Kolkata, Jan 4 (PTI) A controversial remark by a BJP leader at a public meeting in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district, suggesting husbands should restrain women beneficiaries of the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme from voting for the TMC, triggered a sharp political backlash and condemnation from the ruling party.

The remark was allegedly made by Kalipad Sengupta, a BJP state committee member, at a rally held at Kalaikundu ground in Daspur during a recent public meeting.

A video clip of the purported statement has gone viral on social media, though PTI could not independently verify its authenticity.

Addressing the gathering, Sengupta said women receiving Lakshmir Bhandar benefits might vote for the Trinamool Congress and urged their husbands to "keep them confined at home" to ensure votes went to the BJP instead of the ruling party.

Asked about the remark, the state BJP leaders declined to comment and said they were unaware whether such a statement had been made from the stage.

Clarifying the BJP's position on the scheme, Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said, "If the BJP comes to power, Lakshmir Bhandar will continue. The name may change. That will be decided later. But we will give more money than what the TMC is offering," adding that the BJP would also create job opportunities for the husbands of beneficiary women.

The Trinamool Congress hit back sharply, with Ghatal organisational district president Ajit Maity calling the BJP "anti-women and anti-Bengal".

"They are scared of women voters and are now issuing instructions to husbands to confine their wives at home. The mothers and sisters of Bengal will respond to this at the ballot box," Maity said.

Sengupta, however, remained defiant and attempted to justify his remarks, saying women beneficiaries should consider the unemployment faced by their sons and husbands before voting.

"There are no jobs in the state. Women get Lakshmir Bhandar and vote for the TMC, while their sons and husbands are forced to migrate to other states for work," he said.

Reacting to the controversy, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the BJP in a post on X, sharing a video purportedly showing Sengupta's remarks.

In the post, Banerjee accused the BJP of deploying what he called a "Bangla-Birodhi toolkit", alleging that after attempts to delete voters' names during the Special Intensive Revision failed, the party had "sunk to feudal and patriarchal barbarism by urging husbands to lock up their wives at home, so women empowered by Lakshmir Bhandar can't step out to vote".

He said the BJP had threatened to scrap Lakshmir Bhandar if it came to power, had mocked Bengali Hindus for allegedly "selling themselves" for Rs 500, and had described direct aid to women as alms.

"And now they openly threaten women's hard-won suffrage because their votes endanger BJP's pathetic electoral chances?" the post said, adding that in 2026, women would "march to the polling booths in millions and bury your regressive, Bangla-Birodhi, Nari-Birodhi politics forever". PTI PNT MNB