Kareda Buzurg (Tonk), Rajasthan, February 26, 2026 – In a striking show of communal solidarity, Hindu residents of this quiet village in Rajasthan’s Tonk district have united in support of their Muslim neighbours after former BJP MP Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria allegedly took back blankets already distributed to Muslim women during a charity event on February 22.
The incident took place on the premises of a Sita-Ram temple in Kareda Buzurg village, Niwai tehsil. Jaunapuria, the two-time former Lok Sabha MP from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur (2014 and 2019), was distributing blankets to poor women as part of an outreach programme ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Ajmer on February 28.
Videos that went viral on social media show Jaunapuria asking women their names while handing out the blankets. When 60-year-old widow Shakuran Bano identified herself, he reportedly reacted sharply, asking her to step aside and leave the blanket behind. Similar treatment was given to at least four other Muslim women, who were asked to sit separately after their religious identity became known through their names.
“It’s not like I was suffering without a blanket. This is about how I was insulted,” Shakuran Bano . Fasting for Ramzan and unaware that blankets were to be distributed, she and the others had been invited by a local woman. “He said those who abuse Modi have no right (to the blankets)… It was very hurtful,” she added.
Her son Haneef, a blacksmith, said the family felt humiliated: “Izzat toh kharab ho gayi (It’s a blot on our honour).”
The village, where Muslims form only about 3% of the gram panchayat population, has long been known for its harmony. Hindus and Muslims celebrate Diwali, Holi, and Eid together without distinction.
Hindu neighbours reacted strongly on the spot. As Jaunapuria was leaving, villagers confronted him, with one heard saying in the video, “You are taking the blankets back… everyone is equal in a democracy.” Jaunapuria reportedly replied that the blankets were from his personal funds, not a government scheme.
The next day, residents — led by more Hindus than Muslims — burnt Jaunapuria’s effigy. Many returned the blankets and sweets they had received in protest. Hanuman Chaudhary, husband of sarpanch Bina Devi Chaudhary, said there was “bhaari aakrosh (immense anger)” in the village.
“Be it Diwali, Holi, or Eid… we celebrate together… We don’t differentiate,” Chaudhary told reporters. “Jaunapuria has tried to vitiate the brotherhood here… Today it has happened with Muslims, tomorrow it can happen with them.”
Jaunapuria’s defence
Speaking to our reporter, Jaunapuria stood by his decision, saying the distribution was a personal initiative meant for about 200 women party workers. He claimed the Muslim women had not been invited and rushed to the site after hearing about the blankets. “I had a weham (suspicion)… Ye toh galat bula li hain (The wrong people have been called),” he said, adding that giving them blankets would anger his workers.
He denied any communal motive, pointing to his record of helping Muslims: running a daily community kitchen (sansad rasoi) in Tonk for 10–12 years where roughly half the beneficiaries are Muslim women, and giving aid indiscriminately on occasions like PM Modi’s birthday. “Muslim women tie me rakhi,” he added.
Political fallout and solidarity
The Congress party condemned the act sharply. Rajasthan Congress leaders Govind Singh Dotasra, Tikaram Jully, and Sachin Pilot called it reflective of “hatred, polarisation and division.” Sachin Pilot tweeted that BJP and RSS ideology shows “hatred instead of compassion” in dealing with the poor.
Youth Congress workers visited the village the next day to distribute blankets to the affected women. Tonk district Congress president Saud Saidi demanded Jaunapuria’s expulsion from the BJP.
In a heartening gesture that went viral, Shakuran Bano herself later distributed blankets to Hindu women in the village, reinforcing the message of unity.
Villagers say attempts to divide them have failed. “We live here as brothers and sisters,” multiple residents told reporters. Even policemen present at the event reportedly told the women they should not have been removed.
The episode has triggered widespread debate across Rajasthan and on social media, highlighting both the persistence of identity-based politics and the resilience of grassroots communal harmony in rural India.
(With inputs from The Indian Express, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, and local accounts)
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