In a development that has put the ruling BJP in Gujarat in a tight spot, state vice president of the party and former MLA Jayanti Bhanushali on Friday resigned from his post after he was accused of rape by a 21-year-old woman from Surat.
The woman, in a complaint filed at the Varachha police station in Surat, accused the former MLA from Abdasa in Kutch of raping her.
Sources in the BJP told THE WEEK that Bhanushali was asked by the party leadership to resign. Nonetheless, Bhanushali's letter to the state party president Jitu Vaghani states that he was resigning because of the baseless allegation against him. He claimed that the accusation against him is part of a malicious campaign by “certain elements” to damage his political career and added that he is resigning from his post as he wants a fair probe into the allegation.
In her complaint, the woman claimed that Bhanushali had promised her that he would help her get admission for a fashion designing course in a good college. She said she was introduced to the former MLA in 2017 by someone she knew.
She stated in the complaint that sometime in November 2017, Bhanushali asked her to come with original certificates. She claimed that after she reached Ahmedabad, she was raped in a car on the way to Gandhinagar.
According to the woman, Bhanushali told her, “Every day, lots of girls come like you. Do admissions happen just like that?” She further alleged that other people, including the driver, stood outside the car when he was raping her and one person recorded the crime on the mobile. She did not mention in her complaint the location where the crime took place.
She claimed that she was then dropped at Nehrunagar, Ahmedabad, and added that the accused threatened to release the video online if she speaks out. She further said in March 2018, someone came to her place and forcefully took her signature on a statement that said she does not know Bhanushali.
State BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya told THE WEEK that law will take its course and that anyone found guilty won't be spared.
Asked whether the party would suspend Bhanushali, he said that would depend on legal course that takes shape.
Bhanushali has been accused of rape earlier as well. Another woman from Surat had accused him of raping her following which a counter complaint was filed against the woman, accusing her of blackmailing the BJP leader.
This is not the first time a BJP leader from the state has been accused of rape. A year ago, a woman had alleged that she was gangraped several times by a few BJP leaders from Kutch, including a councillor. In the wake of the allegation, the state government set up an inquiry commission to look into the case. However, the women later claimed that she could not recognise the accused. The case is still on.