By – Prakarsh Kastwar
The incident reportedly happened on Monday as Murmu was campaigning in the West Bengal village of Srihipur, home to Chanchal.
Khagen Murmu, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from West Bengal’s Malda Uttar constituency, was photographed kissing a woman on the cheeks during a campaign, sparking a scandal when the images went viral on Wednesday.
According to sources, the event occurred on Monday, while Murmu was campaigning in Chanchal’s Srihipur village in West Bengal. It was captured during a live feed of the campaign and uploaded on the BJP candidate’s Facebook page, but was later removed.
The ruling Trinamool Congress in the state published the incident on X, saying, “If you can’t believe what you just seen, let us explain. Yes, this is BJP MP and Maldaha Uttar contender @khagenmurmu kissing a woman on his own accord while on the campaign route. From MPs who sexually assault young wrestlers to leaders who write nasty songs about Bengali women, the BJP has no shortage of anti-woman politicians. Here’s how Modi Ka Parivar participates in Nari Ka Samman! Imagine what they would do if they gained power.
According to India Today, TMC Malda vice president Dulal Sarkar condemned the event, saying it was against “Bengali culture”. He questioned whether such an event occurred while the candidate was “begging for votes”.
Murmu did not dispute the occurrence, instead stating that the girl was like his child.
Murmu told HT Bangla, “The picture was posted by someone from Trinamool and is slightly modified. This reflects their nasty thinking. The girl being kissed is one of our children. Daughter of one of our employees is pursuing nursing in Bangalore. Good outcomes. So I paid her a little attention. We do the same with our own children. And both of her parents were standing by her. Even today, I’m campaigning in that area. Nobody took it poorly. The Trinamool is rushing for votes.
Murmu told that he will file a complaint against the TMC. He continued, “There’s nothing wrong with kissing a youngster. This is a total grassroots conspiracy. They have such negative values. “Distorting such images defames parties and individuals.”