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BJP instructs office-bearers, workers to respect women
The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) slammed the BJP, accusing it of fostering arrogance among its ranks
Facing criticism after two recent molestation incidents involving workers, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has instructed its office-bearers and supporters to respect women.
The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) slammed the BJP, accusing it of fostering arrogance among its ranks. Both the opposition parties condemned the behaviour of BJP workers. Even BJP leader and MLC Chitra Wagh demanded strict action against party member Pramod Kondhare.
Kondhare, a BJP leader from the Kasba Peth assembly constituency, was arrested by the police on Wednesday for allegedly misbehaving with a woman police officer during Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s visit to the former’s constituency on Monday. A police complaint was filed against him. Kondhare was detained and released after questioning.
Dheeraj Ghate, president, BJP Pune city unit, said, “We have accepted Kondhare’s resignation as secretary of the party’s local unit. The police will conduct their inquiry. Since this is the second such incident, we have instructed party functionaries to ensure respectful behaviour, especially with women officers, in the administration.”
The Shivajinagar police on Tuesday had booked BJP Kamgar Morcha city president Omkar Kadam for allegedly harassing and molesting a Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) medical officer at her office premises. The incident was reported between January 24, 2025 and June 24.
According to her police statement, Kadam frequently visited her office, verbally abused her and recorded her videos without her consent. The civic administration banned Kadam from entering PMC premises.
Arvind Shinde, president, Congress city unit, said, “BJP office-bearers are misbehaving with both officers and citizens. Even in the latest case, action was taken only after instructions from senior leaders. We will protest against this on Thursday.”
Prashant Jagtap, president, NCP (SP) city unit, said, “This is the second such incident in the recent past. BJP’s Omkar Kadam misbehaved with a PMC health officer and was barred from entering civic offices. We urge chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to take strong action in both cases and issue clear directions to his party workers.”
