It remains to be seen if the BJP leadership will yet again watch in tacit silence as Ramesh Bidhuri, its foul-mouthed leader, runs amok, with no regard for protocol or decency, or, if it will urgently choose to take drastic action against him. Indeed, will they drop him, or put him on a pedestal?
Times Headline Bureau
BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri is again making headlines, and once again for all the wrong reasons. Last year, an unrepentant Bidhuri stirred a major controversy with highly derogatory comments about Bahujan Samaj Party MP, Danish Ali, in the Lok Sabha.
He said, “Oye B.…., Oye ugrwaadi k.…., Yeh aatankwaadi hai, ugrwaadi hai, Yeh mulla atankwaadi hai, iski baat note karte rehna, bahar dekhaunga is mulle ko.”
(Translation: An extremely foul abuse; another derogatory abuse against Muslims; this mullah is a terrorist, note what he speaks, we will see this mullah outside…)
Bidhuri’s inflammatory remarks, made during a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in Parliament, have been expunged from the official proceedings.
An emotional Ali, an MP from Amroha in UP at that time (he lost from the same constituency in 2024, on a Congress ticket) spoke to the media, saying, “If this is the treatment an elected representative like me receives, then what will happen to an ordinary person?”
Anguished, he said that he was considering dropping out of Parliament if he does not get justice. There should be an inquiry conducted by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, he demanded.
“I hope justice will be done, but if not, with a heavy heart, I may leave this Parliament, because such behavior cannot be tolerated… Is this why we were elected? Is this what our ancestors sacrificed their lives for?”
This was an insult inflicted on the entire nation, he said. “Let’s see if the BJP takes action against Ramesh Bidhuri or promotes him to a cabinet position. Perhaps, there is now competition within the BJP to make such comments, not just outside, but even inside Parliament.”
After this huge controversy which was widely criticised across the country, Bidhuri stayed low for several months. He was denied a ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Now, he seems to be gradually making a comeback.
Surprisingly, on January 4, 2025, he was given a ticket to contest against Delhi Chief Minister Atishi from her home constituency of Kalkaji in the upcoming February 5 assembly elections in Delhi.
However, the very next day, his comments about Atishi and Congress Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi triggered a massive backlash. There is apparently serious resentment among sections of the BJP leadership on the use of this kind of foul language against respected and popular women leaders. This would obviously alienate a large section of people across India, including in Delhi, especially women.
Media reports said that BJP chief JP Nadda has reprimanded Bidhuri. There is reportedly a proposal to drop him from Kalkaji. This is mainly because in terms of demographics this constituency has a strong section of middle and upper class residents, including educated and working women. They would certainly not appreciate such filthy language being used against women leaders of the country.
Atishi, 43, has been a topper in one of the prestigious colleges of Delhi University. She has been a successful Oxford University alumna in London, and has had a brilliant track record in her academic life. Her parents have been highly respected professors in Delhi University–Tripta Wahi and Vijay Singh.
At one time, she was running at least 14 key portfolios in the outgoing Kejriwal-led government, including finance, education, public works department, power, revenue, law, planning, services, information and publicity, and vigilance. She won the Kalkaji assembly constituency in the assembly polls held in 2020.
She is one of the key minds and advisors who has turned around the government schools in Delhi into centres of excellence, especially the Dr BR Ambedkar Schools of Specialized Excellence. These schools, mostly with talented girls studying and learning professional and academic skills, are becoming role models across India, and are being highly appreciated by visiting dignitaries and delegations from abroad.
Her commitment to education, especially for deprived and poor school students, and those coming from humble backgrounds, and for public and social welfare, is well known.
Women in Delhi, students and teachers, and ordinary citizens – they would simply abhor such language being used against a young and hard-working chief minister who has grown up in Delhi and has made it proud.
Besides, Bidhuri made a controversial remark while discussing the state of roads in Kalkaji. He said, “Lalu (Prasad Yadav) ne kaha tha Bihar main ki Bihar ki sadkon ko main Hema Maliniji ke gaalon jaisi bana dunga. Lalu ne jhoot bola tha. Nahi bana paaya. Lekin main aapko vishwas dilata hoon, jaise Okhla ki sadkein humne bana di hain, Sangam Vihar ki bana di hain, isi tarah, Kalkaji… ki saari ki saari sadkein, Priyanka Gandhi ke gaal jaisi zaroor bana denge.”
(Translation: Lalu (Prasad Yadav) had said in Bihar that I will make the roads of Bihar like Hema Malini’s cheeks. Lalu had lied. He could not make it. But I assure you that just like we have built the roads of Okhla, Sangam Vihar, in the same way, we will definitely make all the roads of Kalkaji… like Priyanka Gandhi’s cheeks.)
He also targeted Atishi for dropping her surname, Marlena, and adopting Singh instead, stating, “Marlena has become Singh… She changed her father. She was Marlena earlier, but has become Singh now.”
Political observers believe that this kind of personal attacks against a woman leader, violating her family’s reputation and attacking her personal dignity, does not go with the Indian cultural and social ethos.
“This is nothing but a character assassination of the chief minister, who happens to be a highly educated woman and competent leader, in front of the whole world. Bidhuri should be sacked by the BJP immediately, and isolated from the political mainstream,” said an academic based in Delhi.
Atishi had dropped her surname in 2018. Her father is former Delhi University professor, Vijay Singh. He, like his wife, Tripta Wahi, also a former professor in Delhi University, are well-known and distinguished names in the academic circles in Delhi, and across India and abroad.
The remarks sparked an uproar, drawing quick and angry reactions from both the AAP and Congress. In response, Bidhuri apologized on the same day and expressed his regret on X, tagging BJP national president JP Nadda, Delhi BJP in charge Baijayant Panda, and Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva.
During a press conference on Monday, January 6, 2025, a deeply anguished Delhi Chief Minister, Atishi, became emotional when questioned about the remarks made by Bidhuri. She said that he is “seeking votes by abusing” her father.
“My father is a teacher who has dedicated his life to educating children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. He is 80-year-old and so unwell that he needs support to walk. Is this the level you will stoop to in order to win an election? Will you start insulting an elderly man? I never imagined that the political discourse in this country would sink so low,” she said.
Calling the attack “heartbreaking,” she added, “Ramesh Bidhuriji served as an MP from Delhi for ten years. He should explain to the people of Delhi what he accomplished for his constituency during that time. He should demonstrate that his work over ten years is better than mine in the past five years. Instead, he is resorting to abusing my elderly father to seek votes.”
Bidhuri and his party leadership, as in the past, seem unaffected, as of now. On January 7, 2025, Bidhuri again accused Atishi of “shedding crocodile tears” following her emotional breakdown during a press conference over his remarks about her father.
Having been involved with the RSS since his childhood, Bidhuri continues to be a regular participant at the local RSS shakha. During his college years, he was active in the ABVP, the students’ wing of the RSS/BJP. After earning his BCom degree, he pursued a law course at Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut.
As he advanced through the ranks of the BJP, Bidhuri built strong relationships with senior party leaders, including Rajnath Singh, and held key positions such as general secretary and vice-president of the Delhi state BJP.
He contested the Delhi Assembly elections in 1993 and 1998 on a BJP ticket, but was defeated. However, he was elected as the MLA for Tughlakabad in 2003 and went on to retain the seat in 2008 and 2013. In 2014, he won the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat, a victory he repeated in 2019.
It remains to be seen if his party leadership will yet again watch in tacit silence as its foul-mouthed leader runs amok, with no regard for protocol or decency, or, if it will urgently choose to take drastic action against him. Will they drop him – or put him on a pedestal?
Either way, it will only reflect on the character of the party, and may cost it dear in the coming elections in Delhi and elsewhere.