A Madhya Pradesh BJP leader triggered controversy after he told a journalist to “go to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan” after being questioned over rising fuel prices. Ramratan Payal, the district unit chief of the party in Katni, slammed the journalist for asking questions on fuel prices at a time when “the third wave of the coronavirus is near to come”.
“Go to Taliban. Petrol is being sold at ₹50/litre in Afghanistan. Go and refill your petrol there (Afghanistan), where nobody is there to refill the fuel. a minimum of here (India) we’ve safety. The third wave of coronavirus is on the brink of come while two Covid waves India has already faced,” the BJP leader is heard saying in a very video that has been widely shared.
The BJP leader, who was surrounded by his supporters – all of them without a mask – also lectured the journalist about people not following Covid protocols.
“You are a reputed journalist. does one even realise the type of situation within the country? How (Narendra) Modi-ji is controlling things. he’s still giving free ration to 80 crore people,” he said.
Mr Payal made the comments on Wednesday after he participated during a tree-planting programme organised by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth arm of the BJP.
He is not the primary leader from the BJP to demand that those critical of the party’s governance move to Afghanistan. some days ago, his Bihar colleague Haribhushan Thakur asked “those who are feeling scared in India” to travel to the war-torn country.
“… those that feel scared here can go there… petrol and diesel are cheaper. Once there, they’ll understand the worth of India,” he said, taking a swipe at critics of the hike in fuel prices.
The price of petrol has crossed ₹100 a litre, while diesel rates have touched ₹90 in most states across the country. Fuel prices remained unchanged across the four metros for the 34th straight day today. However, diesel prices are cut by up to 25 paise across the metros for the third consecutive day.
