‘Sexist’: Bidhuri faces criticism for Delhi CM, Priyanka Gandhi remarks

The BJP said that the party does not tolerate disrespectful statements against women and such remarks should not be made

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kalkaji seat candidate Ramesh Bidhuri has stirred a massive political controversy with two separate statements mentioning Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Atishi, drawing strong criticism from both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday for the “distasteful” and “sexist” remarks.

Ramesh Bidhuri. (ANI)

The BJP said that the party does not tolerate disrespectful statements against women and such remarks should not be made.

In a speech at Kalkaji on Saturday during a campaign for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, Bidhuri is heard saying: “Lalu had said that he will develop roads in Bihar as smooth as Hema Malini’s cheeks. Lalu had lied. But I assure you just as we made the roads in Okhla and Sangam Vihar, we will make all the roads in Kalkaji, sudhar camp, inner and outer roads like Priyanka Gandhi’s cheeks.”

The statement went viral on social media on Sunday, and Congress leaders, including its Kalkaji candidate Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba, lashed out at Bidhuri. Lamba accused him of “insulting” women once again in his “usual indecent language”.

Following the row, Bidhuri issued a clarification, and “expressed regret” on the remarks.

However, later in the evening, Bidhuri, at a rally in Rohini, once again struck with a new set of controversial remarks, this time against senior AAP leader and CM Atishi, where he spoke on her name.

“Marlena (Atishi) has changed her father. Earlier she was Marlena, now she has become Singh. This is their character,” he said.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal lambasted the BJP for “abusing Delhi CM”. “The people of Delhi will not tolerate the insult of a woman CM. All women of Delhi will take revenge for this,” he said in a post on X.

The former two-time Lok Sabha MP from South Delhi and three-time legislator is not new to controversies surrounding his public statements. Earlier last year, Bidhuri invited widespread condemnation over his outburst during a Lok Sabha session, targeting then BSP MP Danish Ali.

Lamba demanded an apology for Bidhuri’s remarks against Gandhi. “As soon as he was declared the candidate from Kalkaji assembly, Ramesh Bidhuri has once again insulted women in his usual indecent language. Will the people of Kalkaji keep in their midst a person who neither cares about the dignity of the house nor respects women? Bidhuri ji should publicly aplogise and their top leaders should clarify their opinion on this,” she said.

Congress’s Ajay Maken and Supriya Shrinate said that Bidhuri’s remarks expose “the real thinking of BJP”.

“The statement is not only shameful but also exposes his narrow mindset towards women..It is clear that the culture of disrespect towards women is deeply ingrained in the BJP. When the leadership itself has such thinking, what can be expected from others?” said Maken.

CM Atishi too had criticised Bidhuri, calling the remarks “a reflection of the BJP’s anti-women mindset”.

In his clarification for the remarks against Gandhi, Bidhuri first sought an apology from the Congress. “What Lalu Yadav, who was a minister in their (Congress) govt, should apologise first for what he said about Hema Malini that he would make Bihar’s roads like her cheeks. What I said, I compared it with what was said earlier. When two people make mistakes, both need to rectify. If Congress will rectify their mistake, the same will be done by us as well,” he wrote on X.

Later, “expressing regret” in another post, he said: “Some people are making statements on social media for political gain with a wrong perception based on a statement given by me in some context. My intention was not to insult anyone. But still, if anyone was hurt, then I express my regret.”

On Saturday’s statement, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said: “I have not heard the entire statement of Ramesh Bidhuri but I think that all the women, who are in politics, face a lot of difficulties. So, we should not use such statements and keep control on our language. I would also tell Congress that when such remarks are made against our MP Hema Malini, you don’t stop it. Having said that, respect for women and control over our language is our duty and such statements are not welcomed by us.”