By Sharanya Gopinathan
Whatever you were doing this Sunday night, chances are Sakshi Maharaj was doing it better.
Sakshi Maharaj is the BJP MP from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. He believes Hindu women should have four children each and then give one to the army and one to “us” religious leaders. This weekend, when cities across India were protesting in different ways against police inaction and political support for the perpetrators in two horrifying rape cases from Kathua and Unnao, Sakshi Maharaj was occupied elsewhere. He did not seem to have any donated kids in tow as he spent Sunday night controversially inaugurating a new nightclub in Lucknow called…wait for it…Let’s Meet!
For those of you dying to party at a club inaugurated by Sakshi Maharaj, Let’s Meet is located on the second floor of Jeet Plaza near Ram Ram Bank crossing in Aliganj area, Lucknow. Sakshi Maharaj, with supporters in tow, cut a ribbon here to declare the nightclub open to visitors.
Since logic and sense have clearly been suspended and the actual news reads like this, it doesn’t feel too bizarre to demand that the owner of Let’s Meet be given a national bravery award. It really does take a gutsy kind of businessman to have your brand new nightclub inaugurated by a man who has, in the recent past, blamed the “vulgar behaviour” of boys and girls at public places for rapes, and has called for such people to be put behind bars. “When these couples ride a motorcycle, they hug each other as if they both will eat each other. Similarly, couples can be seen behaving in a vulgar fashion in cars, parks and other places.” He’s also the seer who openly supported convicted rapist and self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, claiming that while one person has accused him of rape, several thousands revere this man as a living god.
Still, the possibilities for nightlife and youthful entertainment are clearly endless. Perhaps next we’ll be hearing about Yogi A’s nightclub, Let’s Beat, or perhaps PM Modi’s, now that he’s finally spoken weakly about the rapes in Unnao and Kathua, Let’s Bleat?
Hypocrisy? Arre, sab maya hain beti.