Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat slammed Rajasthan minister Shanti Dhariwal for making a comment last year that connected "masculinity" with rapes, saying the Congress politician should be "thrown into the Arabian Sea" for his remarks, news agency PTI reported. Shekhawat told a public gathering in Bikaner on Sunday that Rajasthan is a "state of men" and that its "masculinity" keeps Hinduism and Sanatan Dharma alive. However, he saw Dhariwal's remark as a stain on that "masculinity."


Dhariwal, the state's urban development and housing minister, sparked outrage in March 2022 when he appeared in the state Assembly to excuse rapes, stating, "Rajasthan mardon ka Pradesh hai."


Shekhawat attacked Dhariwal, claiming that Congress MLAs applauded and laughed like "impotent men" and "eunuchs" when he denigrated Rajasthan in the Assembly.


The opposition BJP has launched an attack on the ruling Congress over the minister's statement ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.


Shekhawat said: "Rajasthan was insulted on the day when Shanti Dhariwal said that more rapes happen in Rajasthan because Rajasthan is a state of men. Behind him, Congress MLAs were laughing and clapping like impotent men and eunuchs when he made the statement."


"Certainly Rajasthan is a state of men. Because of the masculinity of Rajasthan, Hinduism and Sanatan Dharma are alive in India today. If Prithviraj Chauhan, Bappa Rawal, Rana Sanga, Veer Durgadas, Rao Chandra Sen, Maharana Pratap had not been born in Rajasthan, then today our name would have been something else,” he was quoted by PTI in its report.


"Who did the work of blackening the masculinity of Rajasthan? This Gehlot government did it and it is unfortunate that even today he (Dhariwal) is a part of the cabinet. He is still a minister. He should be thrown out, thrown into the Arabian sea,” Shekhawat said.


The Union Minister and BJP leader took aim at the state administration for peace and order, leaks of government recruitment examination papers, and other concerns.


He said that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's primary priority was to keep his seat, and he even referred to his former deputy Sachin Pilot as "nakara and nikamma" (worthless).


"Their infighting came out in the open and it was not the Congress that suffered, it was the public that had to suffer because of this," he said.