Shehzad Poonawalla Apologises To Poorvanchalis
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson apologised to the Poorvanchali community for the controversial remarks he made during a TV debate recently. His comments had made huge uproar as Opposition parties and general public from the Poorvanchal region started voicing their concerns against BJP. The remarks put BJP on backfoot in Delhi ahead of the Assembly elections in the state as the community constitute over 30% of the total population of the national capital.
“I apologise wholeheartedly to all my brothers and sisters from the Poorvanchal region for any pain or hurt my words may have caused. I don’t want to justify anything. All people from UP and Bihar are highly respected by me, and I apologise again,” he said in a video message.
Countering AAP leader Rituraj Jha in the TV debate, Poonawalla said: “Main bhi keh sakta hoon ki Sanjay Jha, Jha 1 aur Rituraj Jha, Jha 2…Main bhi bol sakta hoon Jha 2 ho aap” (I can say Sanjay Jha is Jha 1 and Rituraj Jha is Jha 2. I can say you are Jha 2).
AAP was quick to attack BJP and its spokesperson. “BJP spokesperson hurled abusive words at Purvanchal MLA Rituraj Jha on a national channel. This is an insult to the Maithili Brahmin community and an insult to all Purvanchali people,” said AAP in a social media post.
Reacting to the comments, BJP MP and the Poorvanchal face of the party in Delhi Manoj Tiwari said that strongly condemn the remarks. “Regardless of provocation, we expect our BJP spokespersons to always remain cultured and thoughtful. The party expects this from them. Therefore, I condemn the words spoken by Poonawalla. I believe the party will take cognizance of the issue. I want Poonawalla to apologise without further commenting on the matter,” he added.
“Poorvanchali” refers to people originating from the eastern region of India, encompassing areas like Eastern Uttar Pradesh (including Gorakhpur, Varanasi, and Azamgarh), major parts of Bihar, and certain regions within Jharkhand.
