In a fresh low, Sharad Yadav, a self-proclaimed Mahagathbandhan leader and Loktrantic Janata Dal chief, body-shamed Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje in a rally in Rajasthan.
While addressing a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan, Sharad Yadav said, “Vasundhara Raje should be rested, she has grown tired now, she has become very fat, she was slim earlier.”
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Not stranger to offensive remarks against women, Sharad Yadav in January 2017 had said that the honour to cast vote is more important than a woman’s honour. Sharad Yadav also had stirred a furore when he addressed South Indian women as having dark-skin while speaking in Rajya Sabha in March 2015.
However, Sharad Yadav is not the only politician having loose control on his tongue, especially against the women BJP leaders. Many Congress politicians have used repugnant language in the past to attack their BJP opponents. Another habitual offender, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam had called Smriti Irani ‘thumke lagane wali’.
Congress loyalist Tehseen Poonawala crossed all limits when he used obscene language against BJP’s Smriti Irani on Twitter. His behaviour was highlighted by Smriti Irani herself after which he tendered an apology and took down his vulgar tweets.
Senior Congress leader and Former MP Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh is also accused of perpetuating misogyny through his Twitter account. He once compared Arvind Kejriwal with Rakhi Sawant, claiming that they both try to expose but without substance.
The alarming normalisation of uncharitable remarks by Congress politicians stems from the fact that senior Congress leaders have turned a blind eye towards such obscenity espoused by their leaders or alliance partners. In some cases, senior Congress leaders have themselves been accused of using crass language against their opponents.
Rahul Gandhi and Navjot Singh Sidhu have repeatedly called the Prime Minister a ‘chor’ in their rallies without furnishing sufficient evidence to back their claims. When the senior leaders pay little concern for language, it is futile to expect junior politicians and alliance partners to adhere to dignity in their conduct.