Tehelka case: Vijay Jolly has represented BJP's culture, says Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress today launched a sharp attack on BJP over the defacing of nameplate of Tehelka's former Managing Editor Shoma Chaudhury's house by Vijay Jolly saying it amounts to the defacing the person itself and the leader with the act has represented the culture of his party.

"BJP should take action against Jolly, if it is truly apologetic over the incident. Jolly is infact representing the culture of BJP," party general secretary in-charge for Delhi Shakeel Ahmed told reporters.

Congress spokesperson Meem Afzal said that "This is very old temperament of BJP. Their such behaviour with media is not new. How many times that party will seek apology."

He said Jolly had maintained that he was very angry over the Tehelka sexual assault case but it is "surprising that his anger over the exploitation of a woman was vented on a woman itself and that woman, who had stepped down from Tehelka in the morning itself."

Afzal said that "defacing someone's nameplate is tantamount to defacing the person itself" and Jolly's act of defacing the woman journalist as such reflects the temperament of the BJP leadership.

"Jolly seems to be very educated. He had contested against the Congress Chief Minister. BJP then must have fielded him from that seat considering him a senior and seasoned leader.

"He is also chairman of some foreign affair cell within the BJP. What good diplomacy, he would have maintained outside the country, when he is doing the same within the country. People of Delhi will reply by their vote whether they have accepted the apology of Jolly or not," Afzal said.

Jolly had led BJP workers in the protest demanding Shoma's immediate arrest for allegedly trying to cover up sexual harassment complaint filed against the magazine's Editor Tarun Tejpal by a woman journalist.

The protesters not only painted the word 'accused' on Chaudhury's nameplate, some of them also went on to surround and jostle the journalist as she was leaving her house.

The incident received wide condemnation and BJP distanced itself from the protesters with senior party leader Sushma Swaraj saying their act was "not civilised".