BJP Saharanpur unit chief resigns over sexual exploitation charges, ‘baseless allegations but…’

BJP leader Puneet Tyagi, the party’s city unit chief in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has resigned amid allegations of sexual exploitation made by a Mumbai-based actress. Despite denying the claims, Tyagi stepped down to protect the party’s image, as reported by The Indian Express. The actress, who says she has acted in over 250 regional films, shared a video on X and social media, accusing Tyagi of prolonged exploitation and mental distress.

The actress said in the video. “The BJP leader had developed a rapport with my…son by giving him gifts frequently and then started sending me bouquets and other gifts. I had been living with my son in Mumbai after ending ties with my husband. The BJP leader’s intimacy with my son and good behaviour with me had prompted me to think that I had found support in my life. We had intimate relations for a few months and later he distanced himself,”

Saharanpur Senior Superintendent of Police Rohit Singh Sajwan confirmed that a police complaint has yet to be filed against Tyagi. The BJP leadership has neither issued any official remarks about the situation nor its future course of action.

She further claimed, “I lodged a complaint with the UP chief minister, the Prime Minister, and top BJP leaders but no one paid heed.

Puneet Tyagi vehemently denied the allegation but stepped down from the post. Sending his resignation to BJP Uttar Pradesh chief Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh, he said “Still I am submitting my resignation because I do not want the image of our party to be sullied by statements like this… The truth will come out in the open soon and I am ready to accept any decision taken by my party leadership. I am totally innocent.”