Congress has mounted an attack on the ruling BJP over a bodybuilding championship where skimpily-clad women flashed muscles in front of a big statue of Lord Hanuman in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh.
In a video which has now gone viral, bikini-clad young female bodybuilders can be seen flaunting their athletic bodies. In a corner of the stage is installed a statue of Lord Hanuman, who is considered the god of physical and intellectual power.
The event was inaugurated on Saturday by Madhya Pradesh higher education minister Mohan Yadav, Ratlam BJP MLA Chetan Kashyap, and mayor Prahlad Patel who also belongs to the saffron party.
Congress has objected to the presence of Lord Hanuman’s statue on the stage of the 13th Junior Body Building Competition, calling the event “obscene”.
More than 400 bodybuilders from across India participated in the event which was organised under the aegis of the Indian Bodybuilding Federation.
Sensing an opportunity in the event to corner the ruling BJP – the champion of Hindutva politics, Congress organised a Hanuman Chalisa recitation programme at the Hanuman temple situation in Dhan Mandi area.
On his part, mayor Prahlad Patel – who was the patron of the event – has said that competitors participated in the event in the previously decided attire.
Event organisers also said that women athletes participated in the event in the standard dress, and accused the Congress party of politicizing the matter unnecessarily.
On the back foot, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gheraoed Audogic Chetra police station, demanding the registration of a case against Congress leaders for allegedly posting objectionable comments aimed at BJP leaders over the event on Sunday night.
Angry local BJP leaders and workers closed the main gate of the police station and put a lock on it when police officials refused to register the case.
According to local authorities, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was also scheduled to address athletes through video conferencing but he could not join it due to some unforeseen events.