Haryana: Priyanka attacks BJP for hobnobbing with Gopal Kanda accused in suicide case

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday attacked BJP for hobnobbing with Independent MLA-elect Gopal Kanda who is accused in a suicide case, to form government in Haryana.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress general secretary said BJP has been associated with leaders who are accused of harassing women and accused the BJP of not respecting women.

"First Kuldip Sengar, then Nityanand, now Gopal Kanda....every self-respecting Indian woman should boycott the BJP and its leaders if they EVER dare to speak of respecting women again," she tweeted.

Kuldeep Singh Senger, an MLA who was suspended from the BJP, is accused of raping a woman in Unnao, whereas former Union minister Nityanand is accused of sexually assaulting a law student in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Earlier today, former Union minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti expressed discontent over Kanda, leader of a small outfit Lokhit Party, offering support to BJP in Haryana.

In a serious of tweets, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister requested her party to not forget the moral values of their organisation's foundation and asserted that only people with a clean background should be partnered with.

In another tweet, Bharti said: "Whether Gopal Kanda is innocent or criminal will be decided by law on the basis of evidence, but winning an election does not acquit him of crimes. There are many factors in winning an election."

Kanda is accused of allegedly abetting the suicide of a young air hostess who worked for his aviation company in 2012. A few months later, the girl's mother had also allegedly committed suicide.

Earlier, Kanda said that six to seven independent candidates have pledged unconditional support to BJP after talks with their top leadership. A former Haryana minister, Kanda has won from Sirsa assembly seat by a margin of 602 votes defeating independent candidate Gokul Setia.

BJP needed the support of seven MLAs to retain its government in the state, which it later found in Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party on Friday night.