Kolkata: Day after Union Minister Babul Supriyo drew flak over his 'can break your legs' remark, it has turned out that the 'scolding' was directed at BJP workers to 'maintain discipline within the party'. The party members said that Supriyo can reprimand them even 20 times as he's a brotherly figure to them.
"Babul da is like our elder brother and he has every right to scold us. We don't mind because party's discipline is important for us. Even if he will sold us 20 times, we don't mind. I don’t know why others are having a problem. It's no one's business," said Santosh Verma, one of the men who had to face Supriyo's wrath during an event in Asansol meant for differently-abled.
Besides Verma, a member of party's IT cell, senior BJP leader Arijit Rai has also been identified as one of the members to have been 'scolded' by the singer-turned-minister.
"After the event, Babul da came to us and said kichhu mone koris na...mozak korchillam (Don’t mind. I was joking). We are like a family. There is nothing controversial about it. Unfortunately, media showed only a part of the story but they didn't show his love and affection towards us," Verma said.
Echoing similar sentiments, BJP Asansol president Lakhsman Ghorai termed the incident a 'minor' one and said, "The way it was highlighted, we suspect a conspiracy behind it. Actually, ruling party leaders are afraid of Babul da's popularity in the area. He is doing several developmental works in Asansol and therefore ruling party leaders are worried considering the upcoming elections."
Despite party leaders' attempt to defend Supriyo, the incident did not go down well with a group of BJP members. "We are noticing that Babul is frequently losing his cool now a days. This is bad for party will send a wrong signal," a senior party leader said.
Lashing out at the minister, Asansol mayor and senior TMC leader Jitendra Nath Tewari said, "The prime minister himself uses such objectionable comments in his speeches. So what will you expect from his ministers. Such comments and that too in an event meant for differently-abled is highly condemnable."
The incident, which was captured on camera, took place when Supriyo was invited to donate wheelchairs and other equipment for the differently abled.
The Union minister lost his cool when a man moving during the programme, which distracted him. He ordered his security personnel to break the man's leg and give him a crutch if he "dares to move any further from his place".
This is not the first time that Babul Supriyo has landed in soup. Recently, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s event in West Midnapore, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh came down heavily on the minister allegedly after he complained about the lapses in the arrangements made for PM’s event.
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