In a new low, even by his own standards, notorious politician Sharad Yadav, known for his extremely insensitive political statements, has now attacked the incumbent CM of Vasundhara Raje. In a shocking and rather atrocious statement, while campaigning for the prime opposition in Rajasthan, i.e. Congress, Sharad Yadav is reported to have body shamed her, as shown below :
#WATCH Sharad Yadav on Vasundhra Raje in Alwar, Rajasthan: Vasundhra ko aaram do, bahut thak gayi hain, bahut moti ho gayi hain, pehle patli thi. Humare Madhya Pradesh ki beti hai. pic.twitter.com/8R5lEpuSg0
— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2018
Not only has Sharad Yadav mocked Vasundhara Raje, but he has also body shamed her by referring to her weight. For those unaware, Sharad Yadav is an ex-member of the Nitish Kumar led Janata Dal [United], who was expelled in 2017 by Nitish for his anti-party sentiments. Since then, he is the leader of the new faction, Lok Kranti Dal, and is currently backing the opposition in their bid to oust BJP from power.
Taking immediate offence at such a crass remark, Vasundhara Raje accused Sharad Yadav of being a misogynist. To quote her, “I feel Yadav did not only hurt me but also insulted other women”. She requested EC to take action against the leader and send a strong message to the people.
Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje on Friday slammed senior politician Sharad Yadav for body-shaming her. Raje said that Yadav did not only hurt her but also insulted all women.
Read @ANI Story| https://t.co/Q2aBwXDNbM pic.twitter.com/utScligWdZ— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) December 7, 2018
In response to her fierce attack, a cornered Sharad Yadav gave a rather lame excuse for his atrocious statement. He explained that he ‘said it as a joke’ and that it ‘wasn’t derogatory in any way.’ It didn’t look at all as if he was ashamed of his own statement.
Sharad Yadav on his remark 'Vasundhara (Raje) ko aaram do, thak gayi hain, bahut moti ho gayi hain':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 pic.twitter.com/bRzI5XwlmR
— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2018
To be honest, this statement by Sharad Yadav is absolutely derogatory and unacceptable. While it is hidden from none that Vasundhara Raje has had a tumultuous tenure as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, this is certainly not a way to address her with respect to the problems faced by Rajasthanis. However, if one sweeps off the dust from Sharad Yadav’s political history, one shall find that this politician is a habitual offender.
During a discussion in the Parliament with respect to harsher sentences in lieu of the Delhi gang-rape case, Sharad Yadav, of all things, legitimized stalking with the following comment, “Who amongst us has not followed girls?”.
If this wasn’t enough, in a subsequent discussion on the government’s proposal to increase FDI in the insurance sector, Sharad Yadav went on to insult South Indian women, with horrible references to their sexuality. To quote his atrocious statement, “The women of the south are dark, beautiful, their bodies, their skin. They aren’t made like this here. They know dance, Why is there a song ‘mera gora lele, shyam rang dede? What did I say that is wrong?”
When the then HRD minister Smriti Irani and DMK MP Kanimozhi protested against such remarks, Sharad shot back, insulting Smriti with this offensive remark, “I know what you are”. He even defended his statement to Kanimozhi, saying that he was only paying a compliment to her.
This is not all. Sharad Yadav even went on to remark that the value of a vote cast is much more than a woman’s honour. To quote him, “If a daughter’s honour is violated, her neighbourhood and her village lose their honour, but if a vote is sold, it is the country’s honour that goes. All our dreams for the future evaporate.” As such, when he body shamed Vasundhara Raje, it was just a regular affair for him.
Interestingly, it has become a fashion to shame any woman even remotely associated with nationalism or BJP. Be it Tehseen Poonawalla sending lewd tweets to Smriti Irani, or columnist Shefali Vaidya being addressed as a ‘rape apologist’ by left liberals including Swara Bhasker. The left liberals have taken the political discourse to a real low in their blind hatred against PM Modi.
However, the latest statement by Sharad Yadav has proved that until and unless such opportunists are dealt with in a harsh manner by the concerned authorities, they will continue to speak nonsense and get away with it.
