A day after being accused of sexually harassing an actor, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday removed Ashish Goud from the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha with immediate effect.
In a press release, the Sangareddy district president M Narendra Reddy said, “The BJP is committed for the welfare and safety of women. We won’t tolerate any attack against women.”
On Sunday, Ashish Goud, a member of the BJP's youth wing- Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, son of former Patancheru MLA Nandeshwar Goud, was charged under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the Madhapur police, after he allegedly sexually harassed an actor and a former contestant of reality show Bigg Boss.
The woman had said that Ashish and his friends misbehaved with them at a party in a hotel in Madhapur, and also allegedly attempted to physically assault them. Ironically, on the same day, Ashish had taken part in a protest against sexual violence and demanded that the perpetrators who raped and killed the veterinary doctor in Shamshabad to be shot dead or hanged to death — which is in line with the Telangana BJP chief K Laxman's demand.
Though police said that the accused went on a large on Sunday, Ashish appeared before the media, and rubbishing the allegations against him said that it was a ‘political ploy’ by his rivals.
Refuting the allegations, he said, “I found out this morning that there is some news claiming that I misbehaved and it is being spread. That is all false. If there is something like that, people should come forward with proof. It’s become a habit nowadays for everyone to issue blank complaints like this. We are not those who get scared for this,” he had said.