GUWAHATI: A triple talaq victim in Assam, expelled from the BJP recently, has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of harping on the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme, but allegedly not doing much to protect the interests of women in his own party.
Benazir Arfan, who was the BJP’s Mazdoor Morcha chief executive member and its triple talaq mascot in Assam, was evicted from the party after she reportedly mobilised public support on Facebook for a demonstration in Guwahati for the Rohingyas of Myanmar, without discussing with the party.
Arfan, who joined the BJP in 2012 and had unsuccessfully contested last year’s Assam elections from Jania, however, alleged that women in the party were being discriminated against.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme for the benefit of women. But women in his own party are being ignored and discriminated against. Who will give justice to them? I want to know if Modi will take action against wrongdoers in the Assam BJP and how he is going to protect the interests of women in the party,” she said.
Arfan was served a suspension-cum-showcause notice on September 14 for lending support for the event, which was held on September 16. She did not attend the demonstration. However, as Arfan went vitriolic against the state leadership, particularly against state president Ranjit Das whom she accused of corruption, she was expelled from the party.
Arfan claimed that the demonstration was in fact a “prayer meeting” for the Rohingyas, which an NGO named United Minority People’s Forum had organised, and that she had inadvertently written it as a ‘demonstration’ on Facebook.
“I had apologised for the mistake in my reply to the showcause notice, yet I was expelled. But no action was taken against the event’s main organiser Roshanara Begum, who is the vice president of BJP’s Guwahati District Committee Minority Morcha,” she said. Arfan alleged that the state BJP leadership had been vindictive towards her for questioning nepotism in the party.
“There is a woman who studied only till Class X; despite that, she is delegated various responsibilities by the state leadership, ignoring several other deserving women. I had questioned this injustice and in order to choke my voice, the president expelled me over such trifles,” Arfan alleged.
“I was served the suspension-cum-showcause notice and the expulsion letter on WhatsApp. A decision on my expulsion was taken at a disciplinary committee meeting of the party. However, I was not called to attend it. This is how the BJP treats its women,” said Arfan.
She categorically said that she will not go back to the BJP even if the expulsion is revoked. She said she would soon join another party, but refrained from naming it.