Women look like 'Surpanakha' in bad clothes, says BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya

BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya kicked up a controversy by saying girls in 'bad dresses' look like 'Shurpanakha' of the Ramayana. The BJP general secretary also said that he feels like slapping young people when he sees them in an intoxicated state.

A video of his remarks, made at a religious function organised here on the occasion of Hanuman and Mahavir Jayanti on Thursday, went viral on social media.

"When I leave for home at night, I see educated young people and children under the influence of drugs....I feel like getting down (from the car) and slapping them five to seven times to sober them up,'' the BJP leader said.

"We see goddess in women. But (with) the kind of bad dresses the girls wear and move around, they do not embody goddess but look like Shurpanakha. God has given you good and beautiful body.....dress well, friends,'' he said. In the popular version of the Ramayana, Shurpanakha is the sister of the demon king Ravana.

The Congress slammed the BJP over its leader Kailash Vijayvargiya's remarks, saying it is an insult to every woman of the country and reflects the party's mindset.

All India Mahila Congress chief Netta D'souza said this not only shows his dirty mindset, but also that respecting women is not in the BJP's dictionary. "Are we living in a Talibani rule that the government will tell women what to wear, what to eat and whom to meet," she asked.

"What Kailash Vijayvargiya has said is an insult to every woman in the country. But Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani will remain silent on this. Will she break her silence on this dirty remark," D'souza asked.

The Congress leader alleged that it clearly shows that insulting women every day is the BJP's habit and respecting women is not in its dictionary.

"This shows his dirty mindset. What women should wear, will the BJP decide now. Why is Shivraj ji (Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan), who runs a scheme for women only to garner their votes, silent," she asked.

"Are we living in a Talibani rule that the government will tell women what to wear, what to eat and whom to meet. This only shows his mindset and mentality... who has given you the right to insult half the country's population," D'Souza said.