New Delhi: Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday demanded action against Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav for body shaming her, while campaigning for elections in the state.
Raje, who cast her vote in Jhalrapatan constituency of Jhalawar, said she felt insulted by Yadav’s comments.
“I actually feel insulted and I think all women are insulted,” Raje told media. She is contesting state assembly election from Jhalrapatan.
Two days ago, a former Janata Dal (United) leader said at a rally in Alwar: “Give some rest to Vasundhra, she has become very tired, very fat. She used to be thin.”
Reacting to that, Raje said: “Nothing can be sadder than this as Yadav was always very close to our family. The youth can take cue from this, to set an example. This is demeaning. We never issue personal statements against any leader and it is not civilised behaviour.”
She asked the Election Commission (EC) to take cognisance of the remark.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also condemned Yadav’s statement and filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) seeking action against Yadav. “The comments made by Sharad Yadav against our leader Vasundhara Raje are sexist. The party wants the EC to take action against him,” BJP tweeted on its official handle.
Yadav later clarified that his remark was meant to be a joke. “I said it as a joke. I’m an old acquaintance of Vasundhara. It wasn’t derogatory in any way. I had no intentions of hurting her. When I met her, I’d told her in person that ‘you are gaining weight’,” he said.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot, however, attacked Raje, saying that several cases of atrocities against women had taken place under her rule, and that she had no business complaining now.
“On what basis is Vasundhara talking about insults on women? Under her nose, atrocities on women happened. Rajasthan has been ranked number two for crime in all of India,” Pilot said, after casting his vote.
Meanwhile, amid stray incidents of arson, clashes and electronic voting machine-related glitches, brisk voting was reported from various parts of Rajasthan, as roughly 61 per cent of the 47.43 million electorate exercised their franchise in the assembly polls.