NEW DELHI: A prominent politician in India was expelled from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday amid waves of public outrage after a deadly car crash left a woman who accused him of rape in critical condition.
The expulsion came after the BJP was criticized for not taking stern action against Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the accused lawmaker from the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Sengar is in jail awaiting trial and could not be reached for comment, but has previously denied the rape allegation.
The woman’s family accuses Sengar of plotting the Sunday crash that involved a speeding truck that had its number plate painted black. The woman and her lawyer were critically wounded and two of her relatives were killed. Police arrested the truck’s driver and owner.
The state police first described it as an accident, but on Wednesday the federal Central Bureau of Investigation said it had opened a case to look into murder and conspiracy allegations against the accused politician.
The family has claimed that they had been threatened by the accused politician’s associates multiple times.
King George’s Medical University doctors said Thursday that the woman remained unconscious and in critical condition with a head injury and multiple leg fractures.
India’s Supreme Court ordered the woman and her lawyer shifted from Uttar Pradesh to India’s capital for further treatment if the family members agreed. The court also directed the investigating agency to complete the probe into the crash within a week.
India’s ruling party expels lawmaker accused of rape
India’s ruling party expels lawmaker accused of rape
- The woman’s family accuses Sengar of plotting the Sunday crash that involved a speeding truck that had its number plate painted black
- The woman and her lawyer were critically wounded and two of her relatives were killed
Ukraine’s Zelensky: We have backed US peace proposals to get a deal done
- “The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky told The Atlantic
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had sought to back US peace proposals to end the war with Russia as President Donald Trump seeks to resolve the conflict before November mid-term elections.
Zelensky, in an interview published by The Atlantic on Thursday, said Kyiv was willing to hold both a presidential election and a referendum on a deal, but would not settle for an accord that was detrimental to Ukraine’s interests.
“The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky told the US-based publication. “That’s why we started supporting their proposals in any format that speeds things along.”
He said Ukraine was “not afraid of anything. Are we ready for elections? We’re ready. Are we ready for a referendum? We’re ready.”
Zelensky has sought to build good relations with Washington since an Oval Office meeting in February 2025 descended into a shouting match with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
But he said he had rejected a proposal, reported this week by the Financial Times, to announce the votes on February 24, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. A ceasefire and proposed US security guarantees against a future invasion had not yet been settled, he said.
“No one is clinging to power,” The Atlantic quoted him as saying. “I am ready for elections. But for that we need security, guarantees of security, a ceasefire.”
And he added: “I don’t think we should put a bad deal up for a referendum.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Zelensky is not a legitimate negotiating partner because he has not faced election since coming to power in 2019.
Zelensky has said in recent weeks that a document on security guarantees for Ukraine is all but ready to be signed.
But, in his remarks, he acknowledged that details remained unresolved, including whether the US would be willing to shoot down incoming missiles over Ukraine if Russia were to violate the peace.
“This hasn’t been fixed yet,” Zelensky said. “We have raised it, and we will continue to raise these questions...We need all of this to be written out.”
