BJP leader expresses regret over ₹1 crore bounty remark against Saayoni Ghosh

Sikandrabad Nagar Palika chairman Dr Pradeep Dixit has expressed regret over his controversial remarks announcing a ₹1 crore reward for beheading Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh. The BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh said he does not believe in violence and that his statement was made in anguish after seeing a social media post he believed had insulted Lord Shiva.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Dixit said he later learned that the social media post linked to Saayoni Ghosh dated back to 2015 and that the Trinamool MP had already apologised over the matter. Referring to this, he stated that he also wished to express regret for his remarks. He further said that his cultural and religious upbringing teaches compassion and respect for all living beings.

Dixit also appealed to people not to insult gods, saints or prophets. He stated that the religious sentiments of many people had been hurt by the social media content associated with Ghosh, but added that he was unaware earlier that she had already apologised for hurting sentiments connected to the issue.

On Tuesday, Saayoni Ghosh posted on social media that she was shocked by the public announcement offering a reward for her beheading. She questioned whether such threats against a sitting woman Member of Parliament reflected the idea of women’s empowerment promoted by the BJP leadership. In the same post, she tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union minister Nitin Nabin and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Ghosh also referred to women’s security and representation being raised prominently during the West Bengal Assembly election campaign. She urged the police authorities to take immediate legal action regarding the threat and called on the BJP leadership to initiate political action against the party functionary who made the statement.