Lucknow: Reacting strongly to the flak he received for his controversial statement on the Army, senior SP leader Mohd Azam Khan on Thursday said that he is the “item girl” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“I am the BJP’s item girl because they don’t have anyone else to talk about. They even fought elections here (Uttar Pradesh) focusing on me,” he said on Thursday.

It may be recalled that Mr Khan had faced considerable flak for insinuating that the “Army personnel are molesting women, which is why women terrorists were chopping off their private parts”.  A video clip of his speech went viral on the social media on Wednesday.

He said: “The statement has come out of the pain that I feel in my heart. It is being projected in a wrong manner. I was the first to question the PM’s visit to Pakistan after a soldier was beheaded. But what I have said is a fact.”

The BJP lambasted Mr Khan, saying his remarks on the Army would lower their morale. “It’s condemnable. It has become a fashion for some leaders to make statements showing the Armed Forces in poor light. Azam Khan is a habitual offender in this. This kind of atmosphere is not good for the country. The Congress, CPI(M) and SP have made such attacks on the morale of the Army earlier also,” the BJP had said.