Gurugram: Allegations of gang rape and criminal intimidation against Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli are “very serious” in nature and the party high command will take a note of it, minister Anil Vij has said.
The minister for energy, transport and labour in the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government, Anil Vij told ThePrint over the phone Wednesday, “The allegations are very serious and I am sure the BJP high command will soon take note of this and take some action.”
Anil Vij is the first BJP leader to have reacted to allegations against Badoli—which he has denied.
Police in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasuali registered a case against Badoli and singer Jai Bhagwan (Rocky) Mittal under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for gang rape and criminal intimidation. The two were booked on the complaint of a woman who alleged that she was raped at a hotel run by the state tourism corporation in Kasauli in July 2023.
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The BJP has been under fire since the allegations came to light with the Opposition labelling it an “anti-women party”.
“This is beyond limits! Haryana BJP President Mohan Badoli lured a woman to a hotel room under the pretense of offering her a government job and raped her. Not only did Mohan Badoli take obscene photos and videos of the woman, but he also threatened to kill her if she dared to speak out,” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate wrote in a post on X.
She added that Badoli was made the Haryana BJP president since he is “called Narendra Modi’s favorite”.
Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda have demanded Badoli’s resignation as state BJP chief.
While no BJP leader has come to his defence so far, a senior party leader from Haryana said Badoli’s case is the perfect example of the issues that arise out of catapulting little-known party leaders to top posts—a phenomenon witnessed in the BJP in recent years.
“Our senior leader Dr Kamla Verma used to tell us that the life of a political leader is no less harder than a tapasvi (ascetic), as they have to think many times before taking any step so that it doesn’t tarnish their public image and the reputation of their party,” said the BJP leader, requesting anonymity.
Badoli, once celebrated for his meteoric rise within the party ranks–from a foot soldier to state party president in just five years—finds himself embroiled in a controversy that threatens to derail his political career. Hailing from the village of Badoli in Haryana’s Sonipat district, he began his political journey as a grassroots worker. Known for his oratory skills and ability to connect with the masses, he climbed up the ranks.
After completing his matriculation, Badoli ran a small business in a cloth market near Bahalgarh Chowk, Sonipat. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1989, and later the BJP. He was among the very few early BJP workers in Sonipat.
Badoli became mandal adhyaksh (block president) of the BJP in 1995.
In 2019, he was elected to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha from the Rai Assembly seat. The BJP fielded Badoli in the Lok Sabha elections in May 2024 from the Sonipat seat but he lost to Congress’s Satpal Brahamchari. Despite the loss, the BJP appointed him state president on 9 July 2024—a post held by CM Nayab Singh Saini at the time.
