'Men with 2 wives will get Rs 2 lakh': Congress leader Kantilal Bhuria's shocker sparks row (WATCH)

“If Congress comes to power, as our manifesto states, every woman will get Rs 1 lakh in bank account. (For) The person who has two wives will get Rs 2 lakh…,” the Congress leader Kantilal Bhuria said.  

Congress leader Kantilal Bhuria on Thursday sparked a controversy when he said that men with two wives would get financial aid of Rs 2 lakh. He further stated that if elected, the party will offer Rs 1 lakh annually to women through its Mahalaxmi initiative.

"After the Congress administration takes power, Rs 1 lakh would be credited to every woman's account, as promised in our platform. Those who have two wives will receive Rs 2 lakhs," Bhuria, the party's Lok Sabha candidate from Ratlam, said at a rally in Sailana before he and the audience burst into laughter.

He made these statements in front of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh and the party's state unit president, Jitu Patwari. According to the Congress platform, women would get Rs 8,500 per month under the Mahalaxmi plan till they are no longer classified as below the poverty line (BPL).

During the rally, Patwari backed Bhuria for his remarks and called it a "terrific announcement". "Bhuria ji has made a terrific announcement just now that a person with two wives will get double (of the Rs 1 lakh financial aid)," he said.

Bhuria is a Union minister for tribal affairs in the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The ruling BJP responded sharply to his statements, requesting that the Election Commission take action against the 73-year-old politician.