DEHRADUN: BJP MLA from Rudrapur Rajkumar Thukral once again stirred a controversy by addressing Sita as "meri jaan" while playing the role of Ravan during a

in Indira Colony area of Rudrapur on Sunday.

Even as the organisers objected to the MLA's dialogues, he continued and the audience bursts into laughter. The one-minute video has now gone viral on social media.

In the video, 'Ravan' Thukral in the guise of a sadhu and sporting a white beard is seen telling Sita - whose part is played by a man, "You look very young. It seems as if you are a princess." When the actor playing the role of Sita replies, "Yes, my name is Sita", Thukral spontaneously adds, "Sita, meri jaan."

Talking to TOI, Thukral accepted that he called Sita "meri jaan" but added that it was part of the script.

"It was not Rajkumar speaking. It was Ravan, the villain, calling Sita with affection and every word that I spoke was part of the script," Thukral said, adding, "I have immense respect for Ram and Sita. Sita is like mother to me and every time before enacting the abduction scene, I touch the goddess's feet and seek forgiveness."

Completely unabashed, Thukral also justified the script of the play and said, "Ravan gets killed in

Ramayana

because of Sita and this is exactly how a villain speaks." Meanwhile, Congress vice-president

said that this shows how much the BJP and its leaders respect Ram and Sita. "With his one sentence, Thukral has managed to demean both Sita and Ravan. In reality, Ravan always referred to Sita as devi. His language shows exactly how much he respects Sita."

He added, "If at all BJP leaders followed what they preach, there wouldn't have been cases like Unnao and Shahjahanpur rapes. They just pretend to respect women." BJP spokesperson Devendra Bhasin said that the party is not aware of any such incident and would look into the matter. Earlier too, Thukral had drawn flak for abusing a woman constable. In yet another incident, he was in the middle of controversy for manhandling toll plaza employees in Kichha area of

.