Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui’s has triggered controversy in Bihar by stating that “women with lipstick and bob-cut hair” alone should not benefit from the women’s reservation Bill passed during the Special Session of the Parliament recently. He later expressed regret for his comment.
Mr. Siddiqui made his remarks in Muzaffarpur district on Friday while addressing a public meeting organised by the party’s Extremely Backward Cell.
At the programme, Mr. Siddiqui demanded reservation for women from backward and extremely backward communities. “If women with bob-cut hair, lipstick, and [talcum] powder go to Parliament, then your women will not get their rights. Give reservation to backward and extremely backward women. There should be a fixed quota for the extremely backward [women] also,“ Mr. Siddiqui said.
A video of his speech surfaced on social media on Saturday. Women MLAs and other leaders have slammed Mr. Siddiqui’s remarks and have demanded an apology.
The women’s reservation Bill, also known as Nari Shakti Vandan Abhiniyam, has been approved by President Draupadi Murmu and has become a law.
This is not the first time Mr. Siddiqui has made controversial statements. On December 22 last year, he had said that he does not feel safe in the country, and has advised his children to get citizenship abroad. BJP leaders of Bihar had termed this statement as “anti-national” and advised him to go to Pakistan.
Reacting to the latest controversy, BJP MLA Shreyasi Singh said people like Mr. Siddiqui do not want women to improve their lives and so indulge in such “low politics”.
“Abdul Bari Siddiqui has made a statement humiliating women. Words are like arrows from a bow and once spoken, they cannot be taken back. He should apologise to women,” Ms. Singh said.
Janata Dal (United) MLC Khalid Anwar also criticised the statement. “Criticising anyone for using lipstick, talcum powder, or for their clothes is not good. To fight for the rights of one section, he does not have the right to insult another section. The ideology of the party and our leader [Chief Minister] Nitish Kumar does not support such statements,” Mr. Anwar said.
BJP spokesperson Kuntal Krishna too slammed the RJD leader and said, “For RJD, reservation only means making Rabri Devi the Chief Minister of Bihar and sending Misa Bharti to Rajya Sabha. Mr. Siddiqui should better ask women leaders of his own party whether using lipstick, powder, or having bob-cut hair is a crime. His statement shows the anti-women mentality of the RJD.”
After his statement triggered a political storm, the former Finance Minister of Bihar clarified his statement. “For the rally of the Extremely Backward Cell of RJD, hundreds of women from villages had come. I used this language to make them understand my views easily. My intention was not to hurt anyone. If anyone has been hurt by my language, I express my regret.”
