Digvijaya's mental bankruptcy: Top 10 'sexist' remarks by politicians

In the latest faux pas, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh calls party MP Meenakshi Natarajan 100% 'tunch maal'

Tomorrow, the problem would not end with senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh apologising for his sexist comments or claiming to have been misquoted or misinterpreted. Sexist remarks from India's political leaders reflect the country's deeply ingrained prejudice against women. Has the senior Congress leader shown his deep misogynistic attitude towards women? The existence of powerful women politicians - Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, J. Jayalalithaa, Mayawati, Mamata Bannerjee - seems to have made little difference.  

 

The former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has raked up a fresh controversy by making a filthy jibe against his party colleague and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's close aide Meenakshi Natarajan. While praising the young woman leaders's rising graph and ability to connect with the masses, The Congress general secretary called her a "100% tunch maal"  (roughly means ’100% sexy woman’ in English). He also said that he knew this because ‘main purana johari hoon‘ (am an experienced jeweller) to cheers from his audience.

 

Irrepressible Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav once famously promised to make the roads in Bihar 'as smooth as Hema Malini's cheeks.' By doing this, Digvijaya has followed in the footsteps of Lalu, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Narendra Modi, Sushil Kumar Shinde, who had made defamatory remarks in the past and were severely criticised for that.

Here are 10 of the worst examples

.  Congress MP and President Pranab Mukerjee’s son Abhijit Mukherjee on the Delhi anti-rape protests: "dented-painted women protesters in Delhi went to discotheques and then turned up at India Gate to express outrage.’’
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. Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam to BJP MP Smriti Irani: It's only four days of your entry into politics and you have become a political analyst.  Aap toh TV pe thumke lagati thi, aaj chunavi vishleshak ban gayi  (you were shaking your hips on TV, and now you have become a psephologist).’’
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. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally in Himachal Pradesh made a nasty remark about Sunanda Pushkar wife of Congress' Shashi Tharoor’: “Wah kya girlfriend hai.  “Have you ever seen a Rs 50-crore girlfriend?”
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. Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav addressing a public rally in Barabanki, '“Only women from the affluent classes can get ahead in life, but remember you rural women will never get a chance because you are not that attractive.’’
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. Soon after the 26/11 attacks, senior BJP leader Muqtar Abbas Naqvi said, "some women wearing lipstick and powder have taken to the streets in Mumbai and are abusing politicians democracy. This is what terrorists are doing in Kashmir.’’
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.  Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had tweeted that Arvind Kejriwal is like Rakhi Sawant. They both try and expose but with no substance.
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. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) boss Raj Thackeray on Jaya Bachchan after she asked Maharashtrians to excuse her for speaking in Hindi "Guddi buddhi zhali pan akal aali nahi."  (Guddi has grown old but has not attained wisdom with age).
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. After India's victory over Pakistan in T20 championship, union coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said: "as time passes, the joy of the victory fades, just like a wife becomes old and loses her charm."
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. During a debate on Assam ethnic violence in Rajya Sabha, Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told Samajwadi party MP, Jaya Bachchan, "Listen carefully sister, this is a serious matter. This is not a filmy subject."
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. Opposing the Women’s Bill in the Lok Sabha, Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav said that the Bill would only benefit the well-off in the cities, describing well-off women as, ‘‘par kati auratein’ (women with short hair)