AAP MLA Naresh Balyan's sexist remarks about actor-turned-politician Hema Malini have stirred controversy. During a live Facebook session, Balyan is heard saying he will "make Uttam Nagar’s roads as smooth as Hema Malini's cheeks."
"All works will be completed swiftly by the 35th of the month, will make Uttam Nagar's roads like Hema Malini's cheeks," he said in the video.
Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal said no amount of condemnation of "this anti-women statement" is enough. "This man has been sleeping for the entire ten years due to which the roads of Uttam Nagar are in a dilapidated condition! By not working even today, he is only demonstrating his poor thinking. Such cheap thinking that considers women as objects has no place in the society. @ArvindKejriwal ji is appealed to take immediate action against this person with anti-women thinking," she said.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor also condemned the comment. The BJP has demanded that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal should expel the MLA for disrespecting women. Former National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma described the comments as part of a recurring pattern of sexist remarks from political leaders.
"It is very unfortunate that leaders, especially those from the INDI bloc, are giving misogynistic and sexist remarks in different parts of the country," she said. Earlier, similar comments were made by Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav.