Ex-BJP minister calls woman tehsildar 'heroine', sparks row

BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Babanrao Lonikar has landed in a spot after an audio clip surfaced on social media in which he purportedly called a woman tehsildar a "heroine" during his speech, although he did not take anybody's name.

During his speech at a function in Karhala village of Partur tehsil in Maharashtra's Jalna district on Saturday, he also said that a "heroine can be roped in" for a planned farmers' rally.

The comments by Lonikar invited ruling NCP's ire, with the party saying that his "unacceptable" remarks amount to outraging the modesty of a woman.

However, Lonikar defended the use of the word saying that 'heroine' was not an abusive term and he only wanted to convey through it "leader who does good work".

In the audio clip of his speech, Lonikar can be heard saying, "If farmers want aid of Rs 25,000 from government, then we can plan the biggest rally in Marathwada here in Partur. We can involve 25,000 to 50,000 people in it. If Zilla Parisad and Panchayat Samiti members decide then we can have the biggest march in the state in Partur."