BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla has commented on the deaths of a 19-year-old boy and his parents in Maharashtra following a dispute over a mobile phone bought on EMI, saying the tragedy should force society to reflect on the growing pressure to own expensive products and maintain lifestyles that may be beyond one’s means.
“The topic is not about an iPhone. The topic is that is an iPhone, a brand, a possession, a product, a position, a status symbol, more than your identity? Police, villagers and his family spent nearly three hours trying to persuade him to step away. However, when Kunal suddenly jumped, his father fell while attempting to save him. His mother, on seeing the two fall, also jumped from the hilltop. All three died.
Poonawalla said, reacting to the incident.
He further urged people not to let temporary financial limitations or feelings of missing out push them towards irreversible decisions.
He also urged young people to understand their family’s financial circumstances and not treat being told “no” as an attack on their independence or an indication that they were missing out.
