{
  "id": 2212204,
  "title": "BJP Avoids Acting Against Motor-Mouth Legislators Due To Caste Equations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/bjp-avoids-acting-against-motor-mouth-legislators-due-to-caste",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-20T19:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/bhopal/bjp-avoids-acting-against-motor-mouth-legislators-due-to-caste-equations"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has refrained from taking action against two legislators, Preetam Lodhi and Pannalal Shakya, due to concerns over caste dynamics within the party. The two legislators, representing Pichhore constituency in Shivpuri district and Guna respectively, have recently made controversial statements that have sparked debate within the BJP.\n\nShakya, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, made an offensive comment against women, while Lodhi, a first-time MLA, incited his community members to fight against individuals from a particular group. Both legislators have a history of making such comments, which have damaged the BJP's image in the past.\n\nDespite receiving advice from the party's state president, Hemant Khandelwal, to desist from making statements that could harm the party, Shakya and Lodhi have continued to disregard warnings. Lodhi, who has been vocal in his opposition to an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has issued more than half a dozen statements in the past two and a half years, often stealing the limelight.\n\nSources within the BJP have revealed that the party is hesitant to take action against Lodhi and Shakya in order to avoid alienating the communities from which they originate. The SC community, from which Shakya hails, is a significant voting bloc in the state, and the Lodhi group is also a prominent group in Madhya Pradesh. Lodhi's comments targeting the Brahmin community led to his expulsion from the party before the 2023 assembly elections.\n\nIn an attempt to salvage their reputations, the BJP had previously readmitted Lodhi into the organization and granted him a ticket to contest the elections prior to the 2023 assembly polls. However, the party's decision to avoid taking a stance against these two legislators may have long-term consequences for their image and the perception of the party among its constituents.",
  "summary": "Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The statements of two legislators have again stirred up discussions in the BJP. Legislators from the Pichhore constituency in Shivpuri district, Preetam Lodhi and Pannalal Shakya from Guna, issued controversial statements again. After both legislators made disputed comments, they disposed of the matter by issuing statements on social media. Shakya made an offensive…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}