Row erupts over Bhati’s London visit
BARMER: Sheo MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati’s visit to United Kingdom has come under fire from opponents who have called him “traitor”while accusing him of meeting people who are antinationals and taking part in antiIndia protests. The leader has slammed the allegations stating that for him the “country comes first.”
The independent candidate from Barmer Lok Sabha seat had gone to London to attend an event in February but posts targeting him were shared on social media platforms on Tuesday. HT has seen the posts.
A post on X by state head of social media for BJP Haryana, Arun Yadav, said that it has been “proved” that Bhati is “a traitor”. Yadav also posted some screenshots of Bhati’s meeting with a London professor on a social media platform.The post read, “Gradually everything will come out, and now it has been proved that Ravindra Singh Bhati is a traitor.” In another post, Sadhvi Prachi, who introduced herself on ‘X’ as a Vishva Hindu Parishad leader and the national president of ‘Bhagwa Kranti Sena’, wrote, “No vote for Gaddaar Bhati.”
Responding to allegation Bhati said, “Few days back, the Bharatiya Janata Party was asking for (my) support... at that time I was their own, but now when I am contesting elections against them, they are tagging me as a traitor.” Bhati said, “I am a patriot and will always be so. For me, country comes first. The BJP and Congress have launched a joint operation.”
BJP candidate Kailash Choudhary said, ““The people of my area will not support anti-national forces and will respond to them on their own.” Choudhary also demanded to probe such allegations.