Ranchi MLA C.P. Singh accused Congress leaders of disrespecting women and treating them like “bonded labourers” on Saturday, referring to the alleged misbehavior of a Congress spokesperson with BJP leader Arti Kujur recently.

Addressing the media at state BJP state headquarters in Ranchi, Singh, a former minister, said the Congress party should apologise to Kujur, the president of the state BJP women’s wing, for the alleged misbehavior of their leader Alok Dubey during a demonstration outside Congress Bhawan here.

Members of the BJP women’s wing staged a protest outside Congress Bhawan in Ranchi on Thursday against Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s alleged ill-treatment of women on International Women’s Day. The leaders alleged that Hooda made women pull tractors on March 8, which was demeaning and uncalled for.

“Congress leader Alok Dubey tried to silence our leader Arti Kujur by placing his hand on her mouth. Our party will not tolerate such disrespect of women,” Singh said on Saturday.

The Congress leader’s actions, Singh said, not only showed that the party treated women poorly, but also highlighted how the Congress party was trying to suppress the voice of citizens. “Trying to cover a woman’s mouth with your hand to silence her voice is not healthy politics. It is not something we have learnt in years of politics in India. The Congress party must change their approach towards women and treat them with respect,” Singh said.

Later in the day, Dubey retaliated by taking jibes at some BJP leaders who were facing charges of crimes against women. Dubey, in a press communiqué, stated that the BJP had stooped to a level where it was practicing “issue-less” politics. “They do not have concrete issues to target other parties, so they have started practicing issue-less politics,” said Dubey, adding that the Congress party does not need to learn how to respect women from the BJP.

Dubey said that the BJP has started the trend of staging protests outside offices of political parties, and it may have to get a taste of its own medicine soon. “At a time when farmers are protesting for over 100 days and inflation is burning a hole in the pocket of commoners, the BJP is busy finding issues that can divert people’s attention from the real problems,” he said.