Former BJP MP Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria sparked controversy in Rajasthan's Tonk district by distributing blankets to women but taking them back from Muslim recipients, claiming he mistook them for party workers. The incident, captured in a viral video, has drawn sharp criticism from Congress leaders for promoting hate and discrimination.
In Rajasthan's Tonk district, former BJP MP Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria organized a blanket distribution event in Kareda Buzurg village on Sunday. A viral video shows him asking a Muslim woman's name and saying, “Kya naam tera, hatt, ek taraf (What is your name? Move, step aside)” before instructing an aide, “mat de (don’t give).” He told the gathered crowd that those who “abuse Modi” have no right to the blankets.
As Jaunapuria left, a person remarked, “You are taking the blankets back after giving them. Everyone has equal rights in a democracy.” He responded, “Is it from the government?” Affected woman Shakuran Bano told reporters that six Muslim women were involved, with three receiving blankets that were then taken away. She said, “He was asking the name of Muslims and took back the blankets. They told us to sit separately without giving a reason.” Local resident Ramesh Meena noted that the village has 5-7 Muslim households and has always been peaceful, with no such incident before.
Jaunapuria told The Indian Express that the event was his personal initiative for about 200 party workers. He explained, “It was not a party programme, but my own. I keep doing such programmes. We had made a list of about 200 women party workers and hadn’t invited them (the Muslim women). But the moment they got to know... they were sitting with chunnis, and I believed that they must be (party) workers.” He said he asked names out of suspicion and, upon learning they were Muslim, deemed it a mistake. He claimed past aid to Muslims, including blankets, and that 50% of women at his “sansad rasoi” kitchen in Tonk are Muslim.
Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra stated, “When the politics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ideology of the RSS are based on hate, polarisation and division, it is not surprising that BJP leaders at the ground level are displaying such vile behaviour.” Former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot tweeted, “Depriving a poor, needy woman of a blanket and insulting her is extremely reprehensible and unfortunate. Discrimination based on religion and caste is not only morally wrong but also a violation of constitutional rights.” Youth Congress members later provided blankets to the women.
Jaunapuria served as Lok Sabha MP from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur in 2014 and 2019 but lost in 2024 to Congress's Harish Meena. He previously represented Haryana's Sohna Assembly from 2005 to 2009.