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Video shows Congress leader being showered with notes at Mumbai event, row erupts
The video purportedly shows Arif Naseem Khan being showered with currency notes as he arrives at a Ganpati mandal in Mumbai.
In a video that has gone viral and invited massive flak, a Mumbai Congress leader is seen being showered with currency notes as he entered a Ganpati event as a chief guest in city’s Chandivali area.
During a visit to a religious event organised by the Bhanushali community, former state minister Arif Naseem Khan was welcomed by several people by showering currency notes on him.
The incident took place at Himalaya Mitra Mandal at Chandivali in north central Mumbai, which is Khan’s constituency.
BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari demanded to know how so much cash was thrown around freely and demanded a probe.
Calling the video a “political conspiracy”, Khan said “it is tradition of the Bhanushali community to shower currency notes and I could not stop them as it would amount to hurting their sentiments. They shower the notes on guests and then donate the same to a Goshala (cowshed) in Kutch. I did not shower currency notes and just stood there to respect their sentiments.”
He said the BJP, which took no action against its legislator Ram Kadam for his objectionable remarks about girls, has no right to criticize him.
Mahendra Bhanushali, one of the organisers of the event and an office bearer of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), called the ‘note-showering’ a tradition to support social causes.
“We have a tradition of showering money on individuals and this amount is used for social purposes like education, cow protection and medical facilities. Naseem Khan had come at that time and we showered money on him like others,” said Bhanushali.
