Ruling party lawmaker Rajesh Mishra, whose daughter claimed that there was threat to her life because she had married a Dalit, said that his daughter was a major and he was not against her marriage.
In a written statement, Mishra said that his daughter was a major and could choose her life partner. “She faces no threat from me or my family members,” he said on Thursday.
A controversy erupted after Shakshi Mishra, 23, daughter of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Bithari Chainpur in Bareilly, Rajesh Mishra, alleged threat to her life from her father and his associate for marrying a Dalit. She said that her father was harassing her husband and in-laws.
Shakshi married a Dalit, Ajitesh Kumar, 29, on July 4. On July 10, she released two videos alleging harassment from her father. She even said that the goons of her father were after her and her husband. “Tell your goons to back off,” she said in one of her video which went viral.
In the video, Shakshi informed her father about her marriage. “Jo sindoor maine lagaya hai woh fashion mein nahi hai. I am actually married,” she said in her video.
She even asked her father not to harass her husband and his family members. “They are good people and I will be happy with them,” she said.
In the video, Shakshi did not speak about the caste of her husband but it is alleged that her family members were against her marrying a Dalit.
Shakshi even appealed to all the BJP MPs and MLAs of Bareilly not to support her father.
“If something happens to me, my husband or his family members, my father and his henchman (whom she addressed as Rana) should be held responsible,” she said and appealed to Bareilly police to extend security to them.
Bareilly Range DIG Rajesh Pandey said the local police had taken cognisance of the video and the SSP had been asked to extend security to the girl and her husband.
The BJP MLA said that he was not opposed to the marriage but had other concerns. “My concern is that the boy does not earn much. Moreover, he is nine years older than her,” he said and added that he could not even imagine of harming his daughter.
As the issue snowballed into a political controversy, Mishra informed the party high command about it and his stand.
This incident comes close on the heels of BJP lawmakers taking law in their hands. Recently, a BJP MLA in Uttarakhand was seen dancing with guns and carbine while a BJP MP from Etawah, Rama Shankar Katheria, beat up employees of a toll plaza. Last week BJP MLA from Ballia had slapped the guard of a government guest house for not giving him a room. All this has happened after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP lawmakers to maintain ‘maryada’ in public life. He was reacting to the assault on civic employees in Indore by BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya.
