New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has stoked a controversy with his comment on the way women dress, comparing them to the character Shurpnakha in Ramayana. Shurpanakha was Ravana’s sister in the epic.
Speaking at an event organised by the Jain community on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti Thursday, Vijayvargiya was widely quoted by media as saying, “We call them devis [goddesses]. But girls these days dress so badly that one doesn’t see a devi in them, they look more like Shurpnakha [portrayed as a demoness in many traditional versions of the epic].”
He reportedly went on to add, “God has given you (women) a beautiful body, wear good clothes at least,” in a speech that was about the issue of drug abuse among the youth.
On the issue of substance abuse, Vijayvargiya was quoted as saying, “When I step out in the evening and see educated boys and girls dancing in an inebriated state, I feel like getting out of the car and slapping them five-seven times…that would rid them of their nasha [intoxication].”
The BJP national general secretary was reported as having further said, “Education is not as important as good culture is. In our days, we got food only after reciting couplets of Ramayana to our parents…What will happen to this country if the youth, the future, becomes victims of drugs.”
While the BJP has not reacted to the comments, once the video of his speech went viral, Vijayvargiya defended himself and told the local media Friday, “My statement has been twisted… I respect women and they have every right to wear what they want.”
He added: “But today, the youth is becoming a victim of drug (abuse)… in the city, when we travel we see girls in an inebriated state, wearing short dresses. Everybody is complaining about this culture (in the city).”
Meanwhile, Congress media in-charge in Madhya Pradesh, K.K. Mishra, hit out at Chief Minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while targeting Vijayvargiya.
Chouhan had called himself a brother to all women while launching the Ladli Laxmi scheme, a savings plan in the state.
“If ladli (beloved) sister of Madhya Pradesh is Shurpnakha, what does that make their brother? If you wanted to call their brother (Shivraj) Ravan, why did you attack them?” Mishra has been quoted as saying in the media.
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Vijayvargiya & controversy
This is not the first time that Vijayvargiya has made controversial comments on women.
In August last year, after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar broke his party’s alliance with the BJP, Vijaywargiya was quoted by the media as saying, “When I was abroad, I was told girls there change their boyfriends often…the Bihar CM is like that…It is tough to know when he will walk out of a relationship and when he will enter into a new relationship.”
In his defence, he later claimed that he had immense respect for women but was only quoting his foreigner friend.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, his comment on “chocolatey” leaders had caused an uproar when he reportedly said, “Somewhere, a Congress leader demands that Kareena Kapoor be fielded from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat. Others talk about fielding Salman Khan from Indore. Similarly, Priyanka Gandhi (Vadra) was also brought into active politics. This shows lack of self confidence in the Congress. They do not have a strong leader to field so they want to contest polls through such chocolatey leaders.”
Later, he defended himself by claiming that he had made the comment on actors, not on the Congress leader.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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