Two widely known leaders across the country's political divide--Vinay Katiyar and Sharad Yadav--have whipped up a row with their sexist remarks about women, including Priyanka Gandhi, drawing a fusillade of criticism.
An outraged Congress denounced Katiyar's comments as “insulting Indian womanhood” and demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
Katiyar, a BJP Rajya Sabha member and once the venom- spouting face of the Ram temple movement, set off a row when he said Priyanka being a star campaigner for Congress in Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls will have no impact on his party's fortunes as it has “more beautiful women star campaigners than her.” “It doesn't matter...there are girls and women who are more beautiful than her (Priyanka) and are also star campaigners. Some of them are artists and heroines...they are more beautiful than her,” Katiyar said, adding “I think Smriti Irani is beautiful and also campaigning”.
In a sharp and rare riposte, Priyanka, who played a key role in cobbling together the SP-Congress alliance in UP and looks all set to campaign for her party beyond Amethi and Rae Bareli for the first time, said Katiyar's statement exposed the BJP's “mindset towards the better half of the country's population”.
Congress, too, mounted a scathing attack on Katiyar, saying it reflects the “petty and insulting culture of BJP that commodifies women” and accused the BJP of insulting India's womanhood for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah should apologise”.
“If that's all BJP sees in my colleagues who are each strong, brave and beautiful women that have battled through all sorts of hardships to get where they are, then he makes me laugh even more. Because he exposes the BJP's mindset towards the better half of the population of India!!!,” Priyanka Gandhi said in response to Katiyar's remarks.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said BJP has “insulted” India's womanhood and such conduct, behaviour and words prove BJP's mentality.
“BJP has insulted India's womanhood. Such conduct, behaviour and words prove BJP's mentality. Time for PM Modi and Amit Shah to apologise,” he said.
Senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav also kicked up a row with his remark that “the honour of a vote is greater than that of a daughter”.
“The importance of the vote has to be told to everyone, everywhere. The honour of the vote is greater than that of a daughter. It a daughter's honour is compromised, the honour of a village, a locality gets sullied. But, when the honour of the vote is compromised...sold...the honour of the entire region, state and the nation gets sullied,” he told an event in Patna yesterday.
Under fierce attack, Katiyar later said,”I have huge respect for women...I haven't said anything wrong. I was only replying to a journalist's question. Priyanka is like my niece.” Katiyar, while talking to a TV news channel, insisted that Sharad Yadav should apologise for his comments on women, but refused to express regret himself as “I only said beauty does not get votes and what is wrong if someone is beautiful.
I am not going to apologise for what I said about beauty.” Yadav, panned many times over his “misogynistic” remarks in the past, was completely unapologetic.
“I haven't said anything wrong. Like the way we love, care and respect our daughters, we should also do the same in case of votes so our society becomes good, our country develops and we have a good government”.
“Those who are taking it in wrong sense is not a good thing. Vote is the engine of our constitution...it is the driving force....everyone has his own point of view,” he added.
In 2015, the former JD(U) chief had said in the Rajya Sabha, “The women of the south are dark but they are their bodies. He had also spoken about the exquisite dancing skills of South Indian women.
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Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra too reacted angrily to Katiyar's comments, saying, “Shocked at misogynist and atrocious remarks of BJP MP Vinay Katiyar saying there were 'prettier star campaigners' in his party than Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. This exposes the shameful mindset of some of our political leaders.
“We all need to respect women and accept them as equals instead of commoditising and objectifying them. As a society, we need to bring in a change. Vinay Katiyar should publically apologise for his remarks,” Vadra said.
Union Minister and senior BJP leader M Vankaiah Naidu termed the remarks by the two leaders as “unacceptable”.
“I do not know who made this comment. I saw it in television that Vinay Katiyar's name is coming and Sharad Yadav's name is coming. Nobody is expected to make any personal comments particularly on woman. We do not approve it at all. Party does not approve and appreciate any such comments.
“The party does not subscribe. Whoever it is whether it is Priyankaji or somebody else, it is a different matter.
Woman is a woman. We are all political rivals. We are not enemies also. We have to respect to get respect. All such comments are not acceptable to the party,” he told reporters in Delhi.
JD(U) went into damage control, with it general secretary K C Tyagi saying the the party was “sorry” if Yadav's remarks had hurt anybody.
“We Samajwadis have been of the view that daughter and vote are to be be given to superior person. If a daughter is married to a wrong person, only one family is destroyed, but if vote is given to wrong person then it destroys the entire nation ... This is not at all a sexist remark.
“We are sorry if it (Yadav's statement) has hurt the sentiments of any section of the society,” Tyagi said.
Subhashini Ali, senior CPI(M) leader and All India Democratic Women's Association president, said politicians needed to be cautious when talking about women.
“Sharad Yadav is a mature politician, but off and on he makes comments like these which reflect his faulty understanding of women. Politicians need to exercise great caution while talking about girls and women in this country as they are quite unsafe,” she said.
