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Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria’s blanket drive in Rajasthan’s Kareda Buzurg village sparked outrage after Muslim women were denied blankets during a distribution drive
Shakuran Bano, 60, said she felt humiliated after being identified by religion and asked to return the blanket. (News18 Hindi)
A blanket distribution drive by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria in Rajasthan’s Tonk district has triggered outrage in Kareda Buzurg village, after several Muslim women, including a 60-year-old resident, were allegedly denied blankets and asked to return those already given to them.
The incident occurred during a charitable distribution programme organised by Jaunapuria, who represented the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur constituency in the Lok Sabha in 2014 and 2019. A video of the event, which has since gone viral on social media, shows the former MP asking women their names and directing that blankets be taken back from some beneficiaries after identifying them as Muslims.
In the footage, Jaunapuria is heard saying that the blankets were not meant for those who “abuse” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while also indicating that it would not matter to him if anyone felt hurt by his decision.
Among those affected was Shakuran Bano, 60, who said the denial itself did not hurt as much as the manner in which she was treated. She said she felt humiliated after being identified by religion and asked to return the blanket. Her son Hanif, a blacksmith, said that material help could be replaced but the loss of dignity was harder to repair.
The incident angered residents of Kareda Buzurg, though villagers say communal relations remain peaceful. With Muslims forming barely 3% of the population, residents say the two communities have long lived in harmony.
In a show of solidarity, Hindu residents rallied behind Shakuran Bano and condemned the incident. Led by Hanuman Chaudhary, husband of the village sarpanch, villagers organised a protest the following day and burned an effigy of Jaunapuria. Many residents alleged that the former MP’s actions had hurt the village’s tradition of communal harmony.
Shakuran Bano said several Hindu youths visited her home after the incident and expressed regret over what had happened, telling her they felt distressed that their “chachi (aunt)” had been insulted.
The controversy has drawn political attention, with members of the Rajasthan Congress minority cell and local leaders visiting Bano’s home and providing blankets in a symbolic gesture. Tonk district Congress president Saud Saidi demanded that the BJP take action against Jaunapuria and expel him from the party.
Jaunapuria later defended his actions, stating that the programme was a personal initiative and that blankets were meant only for about 200 BJP women workers whose names had been listed in advance. According to him, he suspected that some of the women present were not party workers and feared they might later claim to have “fooled the MP” if allowed to keep the blankets. He denied that his actions were communal in nature and maintained that, as the event was privately funded, he had the discretion to decide the beneficiaries.
Jaunapuria, who has previously been noted for his philanthropic activities, including running a free canteen for the underprivileged that was once praised by PM Modi in ‘Mann Ki Baat’, has faced criticism before as well, including over a past claim that bathing in mud could help ward off Covid-19.
Tonk, India, India
February 26, 2026, 13:29 IST
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