‘Body Shaming’ Complaint: Sharad Yadav Expresses ‘Regret’
NEW DELHI : A day after Vasundhara Raje urged the Election Commission to take action against Sharad Yadav for body shaming her during an election rally in Alwar, the senior Bihar politician on Saturday said he will apologise to the Rajasthan chief minister.
“I saw her statement. I have very old family relations with her. If my words hurt her, I express my regret. I will also write a letter to her,” Yadav was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.On December 5 at a rally in Alwar, the senior politician chose to pick on Raje’s physical appearance and body shamed her.
On Friday, he had tried to downplay his gaffe by terming it as humour. “I said it as a joke. I’ve old relations with her. It wasn’t derogatory in any way. I had no intentions of hurting her. When I met her, I told her then also that you’re gaining weight,” he told news agency ANI.
The 73-year-old politician was campaigning in Alwar he decided to pick on the BJP leader’s physical attributes. “Let Vasundhara rest, she is tired and has gained a lot of weight. She used to be thin,” he said, provoking protests across the political spectrum as well as the social media.In today’s statement, Mr Yadav claimed that he had never meant to hurt the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s feelings. “I saw her statement. I have very old family relations with her. If my words hurt her, I express my regret. I will also write a letter to her,” he said.
Raje is fighting for a second consecutive term in the state which voted on December 7. She is contesting this year’s Assembly polls from her Jhalrapatan constituency against BJP veteran Jaswant Singh’s son Manvendra Singh, who had recently joined the Congress. On Friday, after casting her vote in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district, Raje said,” I am absolutely shocked because I don’t think any leader with such experience and who had such close relations with our family can say such a thing.
Earlier, Yadav tried to downplay the controversy, terming it as humour. “I said it as a joke. I’ve old relations with her. It wasn’t derogatory in any way. I had no intentions of hurting her. When I met her, I told her then also that you’re gaining weight,” he told news agency ANI.
The Bihar leader has been known to make controversial and sexist statements in the past as well. In 2015, Yadav, while participating in a discussion in the parliament, suddenly started describing the beauty of “saanvli (dusky)” South Indian women.Last year, Sharad Yadav made a strange connection between the “honour of a vote and a daughter’s honour”.
This is not the first time the Bihar politician has backed himself into a corner with his controversial remarks. In 2015, he created an uproar in parliament by going off on a tangent about the “beauty of dusky South Indian women”. Last year, he drew a strange comparison between the “honour of a vote and a daughter” — notching a couple of headlines yet again. Mr Yadav, who launched the Loktantrik Janata Dal after parting with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal(United), has allied himself with the Congress for the Rajasthan assembly polls.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday demanded action against former JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav for body shaming her during an election rally, saying she felt insulted by his comments and that the Election Commission must take must take cognisance of it. On Friday, after casting her vote in Jhalrapatan constituency of Jhalawar, Raje said, “His (Sharad Yadav’s) comment had insulted not only me but women as well.” It is important, the chief minister asserted, that the EC takes cognisance of this and sets an example. A video of Yadav was circulated on social media, with many labelling his comments as crass and misogynistic.(With Agency Inputs ).
(With inputs from ANI)
