BHOPAL: The country’s first eunuch MLA Shabnam Mausi who was elected in a bypoll from Sohagpur seat in Katni in 2000, left the state Congress office on Saturday peeved and pained. “Fifteen years ago, they insulted me the same way. I have always been hungry for a membership of the Congress party but nobody will listen,” she said. “I am an old Congressi. Just because I am an eunuch, they will not let me join and work for the party,” she said, her voice trembling.

The former MLA who contested as an independent candidate 18 years ago, went to the Congress office on Saturday morning to take primary membership of the party. She walked into the conference hall in the state PCC office during an organisational meeting of the Mahila Congress which was headed by both the women’s wing national president Sushmita Dev, state Congress president Kamal Nath and leader of Opposition Ajay Singh.

"I raised my voice and asked them why an eunuch cannot work for the Congress party when men and women can. Congress is not anybody’s father’s political party. Why not respect all those who believe in your ideology and want to work for you? They look down on eunuchs and hurt our feelings, is this the right thing to do?" she asked.

Breaking down before the media, Shabnam Mausi claimed that before the 2003 assembly elections she had approached the Congress for a membership. “The then state Congress president Radhakishan Malviya had humiliated me saying that Congress party has no dearth of men and won’t need eunuchs. Today, they again insulted me hardly realising that when you ill-treat eunuchs, we curse you back. Fifteen years ago, I cursed and said let all destruction fall on you. Now, I am cursing them again for the next 15 years,” she said, then clapped with her flat palms and boarded an autorickshaw.

Asked if she will approach the BJP for membership, she said, “I will not go anywhere now.” In 2003, Shabnam Mausi wanted to contest the assembly elections as a Congress candidate. Not getting favourable response from the Congress party, she contested as an independent again but lost.

Speaking to TOI, state Congress campaign committee chairman Manak Agarwal explained, “She went to attend the Mahila Congress meeting and someone asked her to sit at the rear end of the hall. No one insulted her. On the contrary, she was felicitated with a shawl and coconut in the meeting by Mahila Congress national president Sushmita Dev. Shabnam Mausi got annoyed but we will come back. We will bring her back and give the membership."

