Indore: BJP's general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya is being slammed for saying women who are "badly dressed" look like "Surpanakha". He also said that he feels like repeatedly slapping young women who leave home at night.
He was speaking at the religious function on the occasion of Hanuman and Mahavir Jayanti in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
The senior leader suggested that young women who leave their homes at night are under the influence of drugs. "When I leave for home at night, I see educated young people and children under the influence of drugs.... I feel like getting down (from the car) and slapping them five to seven times to sober them up."
"When I go out at night and see young women under the influence of drugs, I feel like giving them five-seven slaps to sober them up. I swear to God. And the girls wear such dirty clothes... we think of women as goddesses... there's no trace of that in them. They look like Shurpanakha. God has given you a good body, wear nice clothes. Please teach your children well, I am very worried," he added.
The remarks went viral on social media and many including Opposition leaders criticised the BJP leader for the disrespect directed at women.
Congress leader Shama Mohamed asked whether union minister Smriti Irani condoned the "disgusting" statement. He wrote on Twitter, "BJP Leader @KailashOnline says girls dress badly & look like ‘Shurpanakha’. This is a reprehensible & demeaning insult to every woman of this country. Where is @smritiirani now? Does she condone this disgusting statement? Or does she only find her voice to attack @RahulGandhi!"
Congress spokesperson Sangeeta Sharma said that BJP leaders are humiliating women again and again which shows their "thinking and attitude". She added that the BJP should apologise.
Some netizens also compared the situation with the burqa ban and asked what BJP prefers, fewer clothes or burqa. Another noted that the BJP leader's threats and criticisms do not apply to Muslim women because they are in hijabs and burqas.