BJP MP Khagen Murmu has waded into a controversy over a video from his campaign trail showing him kissing a woman on her cheeks. Sharing screengrabs from the viral video, the Trinamool has accused the BJP leaders of being anti-women.

“If you cannot believe what you just saw, let us clarify. Yes, this is BJP MP & Maldaha Uttar candidate @khagen_murmu kissing a woman on his own accord on his campaign trail,” said the Trinamool.

The woman, however, referred to the incident as an “act of affection” while speaking to a local TV channel.

“Where’s the problem if a person of my father’s age shows his affection towards me and plants a kiss on my cheeks? Why do people have such a dirty mindset? There’s nothing wrong in it,” she said.

Mr Murmu, a former CPM MLA who joined the BJP in 2019, too justified his act saying the woman is like “his child”. The incident reportedly occurred on Monday when Mr Murmu was campaigning in his Maldaha Uttar constituency. 

The Trinamool, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, also accused the BJP politicians of being anti-women.

If you cannot believe what you just saw, let us clarify. Yes, this is BJP MP & Maldaha Uttar candidate @khagen_murmu kissing a woman on his own accord on his campaign trail.

From MPs that sexually harass women wrestlers to leaders who make obscene songs about Bengali women, BJP… pic.twitter.com/f0PKdaDDn5

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 9, 2024

“From MPs that sexually harass women wrestlers to leaders who make obscene songs about Bengali women, BJP camp has no dearth of anti-women politicians. This is how Modi Ka Parivar engages in Nari Ka Samman! Imagine what they would do if they came to power,” the party added.

It was referring to former wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP MP accused of sexual assault by women wrestlers, and Pawan Singh, a former BJP candidate from Asansol who quit the contest after his songs were criticized for allegedly having objectionable references to Bengali women.

Mr Murmu hit back at the Trinamool over the allegations, saying, “People often show affection to children. This is not an issue. This is Trinamool’s culture.” He has also threatened to lodge a cyber crime complaint against the Trinamool.

In a fresh setback for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, his private secretary has been sacked over alleged violation of rules during his appointment.

Bibhav Kumar’s services have been terminated with immediate effect, said the Directorate of Vigilance in its order, stating that he was appointed in violation of the Central Civil Service Rules, related to temporary appointments.

The AAP hit back at the Lieutenant Governor over this latest setback and accused the BJP of trying to finish the party led by Mr Kejriwal.

Mr Kumar faced a police case in 2007 in Noida for allegedly assaulting a public servant, the vigilance department pointed out in its order, adding that this information was not revealed during his appointment as the private secretary.

“This is not only irregular but also creates administrative difficulties. Due to sensitivity of work handled by the ministers, it is not appropriate to allow appointments in the personal staff of ministers without prior verification of character and antecedents,” the order said.

The department said the charges against Mr Kumar are grave in nature and the trial is at the stage of evidence, due to which “Bibhav Kumar is not clear from vigilance angle”.

The AAP slammed the sacking of Mr Kumar with party leader Jasmine Shah alleging that democracy is being dismantled in the national capital.

“First the Delhi CM is arrested in the fake Delhi liquor case. Now, the LG has started sacking his entire staff including his Pvt Secretary. There is no doubt left that BJP’s sole aim is to finish AAP. Democracy is being dismantled in the national capital,” said Mr Shah.

Mr Kumar was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate earlier this week in the liquor policy case, in which Mr Kejriwal is in jail. He also met the Chief Minister at Tihar on Tuesday.

Indian cricketers Hardik and Krunal Pandya‘s step brother Vaibhav Pandya has been arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly cheating them of around Rs 4.3 crore. It has been learnt that Vaibhav allegedly diverted around Rs 4.3 crore from the partnership firm, causing a loss to Hardik Pandya and his brother Krunal. Hardik, Krunal and Vaibhav had set up a business in 2021, and as per the agreement, the two cricketers will share 40 per cent each from profits while Vaibhav will get 20 per cent.

However, the lesser known Pandya, instead of sharing the profit, formed a separate company and diverted the funds from the business into it.

According to the officials of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police, Vaibhav was charged with cheating and forgery.

It has also been noted that the arrest was made after Hardik had filed a complained against the 37-year-old.

Meanwhile, Hardik has been in the news ever since he replaced Rohit Sharma as captain of the Mumbai Indians.

MI’s decision to remove Rohit as captain hasn’t been taken positively by the fans.

As a result, Hardik has been on the receiving end of some hate from fans over the same.

Hardik’s captaincy tenure got off to the worst possible start with MI losing their first three matches.

However, much to Hardik’s relief, the franchise won their last game against Delhi Capitals.

As doubts started to creep into the minds of players and fans, after a string of defeats, Hardik admitted that a lot of minds had to be ‘cleared’ before the match against Delhi. The result was MI putting 2 points on the league standings for the first time in this campaign.

In the post-match presentation ceremony, Hardik had no qualms in admitting that a lot of hard work had to be put in behind the curtains in the dressing room to get MI to experience their maiden win of the campaign.

“It was a lot of hard work,” Hardik said after the match. “We cleared a lot of minds, made sure our plans are right, the intent is right, and today was one of the days where everything clicked. There has been a lot of love and care going around. Everyone knows we lost three games, but the belief and attitude of backing each other was there, which has been fantastic. We needed just one win, and today is just the start.”

(With ANI Inputs)