A BJP corporator from Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgarh town on Saturday alleged that the municipality chairman Rakesh Giri demanded ‘sexual favours’ from her in return of carrying out development works in the civic ward she represents.
The allegations left the BJP leaders red-faced as the corporator Rani Soni barged into the joint press conference of the state party spokesman Vijesh Lunawat and the general secretary Nand Kumar Singh Chouhan, who were addressing the media on the outcome of the first day of the two-day sate party executive conclave.
"For the last two years the council chairman is neglecting my ward and when I raised the issue with him he demanded sexual favours by talking about it in a suggestive manner," Soni told a packed news conference much to the chagrin of the BJP leaders present there.
The councillor, who represents ward number 5 in Tikamgarh municipality, also said that she would not like to continue in the party in such a situation. When Soni was giving vent to her anguish, the local party leaders tried to intervene and later managed to move her away from the media glare even as the news channel reporters and cameraman chased her.
However, when contacted, Giri denied the allegations, saying they are "politically motivated". "She (Soni) is lying and all her allegations were politically motivated. I never asked her to visit my place," he said.
Interestingly, Giri had been booked last year under section 354 (assault or use of criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage her modesty) of IPC following a complaint by the BJP's Tikamgarh district Mahila Morcha president Seema Srivastava.