Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former MP from Rajasthan Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria has sparked controversy over a video showing him turning away a Muslim woman during a free blanket distribution.
Singh, who was MP from 2014 to 2024 from Tonk Sawai Madhopur constituency, is heard telling the women that those who abuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi have no right to blankets.
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“There is hatred rather than compassion in the interpretation of humane perspective and sensibility of BJP and RSS. Depriving a poor, needy woman of her blanket and insulting her is extremely reprehensible and unfortunate. Discrimination on the basis of religion and caste is not only morally wrong but also a violation of constitutional rights,” the Congress leader and former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan said in X.
The incident reportedly took place on Sunday afternoon during a widespread distribution event. Some people present claimed that the blankets were initially given to the women but were later taken back after their religious identity was known.
“He expected former MP Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria ji, who served twice as an MP and represented the area, to show human sensitivity,” Pilot said.
“Insulting a Muslim Woman”
Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Tikaram Jully accused Jaunapuria of insulting a Muslim woman during a mass distribution program in Tonk district and took the blanket back after he asked about her religion.
Citing an alleged video of the incident, Jully claimed that the former MP was distributing blankets in Kareda village of Niwai tehsil and pulled one off a woman after learning her name.
“A former MP who asked a poor woman about her religion and then took the blanket back is highly reprehensible,” said Jully, accusing her of discrimination.
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Jaunapuria is seen in the alleged video clip distributing blankets among a group of women. He asks one of them by name. When she gives a Muslim name, she asks her assistants not to give her a blanket. Then he says:
“Listen to me, those who abuse (PM) Modi have no right to take (blankets). I can’t help but feel bad about it,” Jaunpuria is heard in the video. He is then seen asking them to leave the place.
Later in the video, some people are seen confronting BJP leaders over denying blankets to Muslim women. They are seen telling him that the women waited for hours before being asked to leave empty-handed. Jaunpuria claimed that he distributed the blankets personally and no government funds were used.
The former MP went to invite people for PM Modi proposed to visit Ajmer on February 28.
Who is Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria?
Jaunpuria, 68, served as a member of the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2024 and represented the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur constituency in Rajasthan as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate.
Before joining the BJP, he entered politics as an independent legislator in Haryana, serving in the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2009 from the Sohna constituency.
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He defeated former Indian cricketer and politician Mohammad Azharuddin in the 2014 general elections. He was re-elected in 2019 defeating former cabinet minister Namo Narayan Meen.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he again contested from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, but was defeated and finished second. Harish Chandra Meena of the Congress won from the seat.
