Stoking a controversy, senior BJP leader and Bihar Minister Vinod Narain Jha said Friday that newly appointed Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has no other quality except being "very beautiful" and the party should remember that beauty does not garner votes.
The remark by Jha, who holds the Public Health and Engineering portfolio, was met with disapproval from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) even as the opposition Congress-RJD combine demanded his sacking, accused him of having displayed a "perverse" attitude towards women.
The BJP also sought to distance itself from its leader's sexist comments with its national spokesperson Sambit Patra saying in New Delhi that his party clearly believes that everybody, bet it women or any other section of the society, should be respected in politics.
"Except for being beautiful, I see no quality that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may be credited with. Nature has showered its bounty on her. But the Congress should remember that beauty does not garner votes. She is also a novice and her husband faces serious corruption charges," Jha said here replying to a query from a journalist on Vadra's entry into active politics.
Vadra was appointed the Congress general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh earlier this week.
JD(U) MLC Ashok Choudhary said, "This is definitely not a remark we would approve of. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has an undeniable charisma and aura which may or may not bring desired results in the elections. But the way she has been spoken about does not appear to be in good taste."