BJP seeks M.P. Congress chief Jitu Patwari’s removal over remarks on women

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari has triggered a political controversy by claiming that women in the State consume more alcohol and drugs than anywhere else in the country.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) criticised the Opposition party in the State for its “narrow mentality” and demanded that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge apologise and remove Mr. Patwari from the post.

Mr. Patwari had on Monday accused the Madhya Pradesh government of inaction in containing the use of drugs and alcohol in the State. “If your son is unemployed and comes home intoxicated, the responsibility lies with the BJP, [Chief Minister] Mohan Yadav and [former Chief Minister] Shivraj Singh Chouhan. We have gotten a medal that women in M.P. consume the most amount of alcohol in the country. The BJP, which dreams of making M.P. a prosperous State, has made a situation like this,” he said, alleging that the State had the highest overall alcohol consumption in the country. 

“Now our sisters and daughters have started taking drugs. The BJP sought votes in the name of ladli behnas (name of a popular welfare scheme for women). The situation has become such that intoxication among women in M.P. is the highest in the country,” he claimed. 

‘Shameless comments’

Several BJP leaders, including Mr. Yadav, on Tuesday hit back at the Congress and alleged that Mr. Patwari had “insulted” the women of the State by “terming them drunkards”.

“Jitu Patwari has made some shameless comments against women. The national president of the Congress should apologise and remove from the post the one who has insulted the sisters of Madhya Pradesh,” the Chief Minister said.

BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said it was not only an insult to women of the State, but also an example of the “petty and disgusting anti-women mentality” of the Congress.

“Even the Congress leaders themselves know this… be it former Congress leader Angkita Dutta, Radhika Khera, or Priyanka Chaturvedi… Many Congress leaders have made extremely indecent comments against women,” he said in New Delhi.

Citing a news report, the BJP leader said that the rural belt of Congress-ruled Telangana had become the biggest consumption hub of alcohol in India.

Patwari stands his ground

Mr. Patwari, however, refused to apologise for his remarks and said that it was his responsibility to raise public issues. 

“Your government has taken the liquor sale and consumption in M.P. to the highest in the country. All the BJP leaders are selling liquor. Should I not raise my voice against it?” Mr. Patwari said, while asking why pictures of various BJP Ministers had appeared with drug and liquor mafias.  

Taking to X, he also cited the National Family and Health Survey-5 (2019-2021) report to claim that “1.6% women of the State consume alcohol, including 2.1% from rural and 0.6% in urban areas”, and that the figures in rural areas had seen a rise in comparison to the NFHS-4 (2015-16).