'Used That Language To Explain...': RJD Leader Clarifies 'Lipstick, Bob-Cut' Remarks On Women's Quota Bill

RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui said his party has been supporting the women's quota Bill “since the beginning” and he was speaking in a language to make the “rural women” understand.

New Delhi: Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who courted controversy over his remarks on Women’s Reservation Bill, that has now become law after President Droupadi Murmu’s assent, said he was speaking a language to make the “rural women” understand and he did not wish to hurt anyone. The RJD leader stoked a row after he said “women with lipsticks and bob-cut hairstyles would come forward in the name of the women's reservation Bill.” He was addressing an event in Bihar's Muzaffarpur.

Clarifying his stand, Siddiqui said his party has been supporting the Bill “since the beginning” and he was speaking in a language to make the “rural women” understand.

Speaking to news agency ANI, the RJD leader said, “In that rally, hundreds of rural women were there... I used that language to explain to the rural woman in their language. My intention was not to hurt anyone... If someone is hurt, I express regret... It was a gathering of extremely backward classes and I was teaching them... RJD had been in support of Women's Reservation since the beginning.”

Slamming the RJD leader over his statements, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said his language is “shameful and disgraceful”.

“The kind of language he had used against women, sisters and daughters of India is shameful, disgraceful and condemnable. It is shocking. What is this language? What is the real intention?... When you were in power did you make any attempt for the empowerment of the OBC for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha,” Prasad said, as quoted by ANI.

Speaking on the issue, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said the RJD had supported the Bill so whatever Siddiqui is saying now is “irrelevant”.

“If you see RJD's stance in Parliament, you can see that they have given their support to the Women's Reservation Bill. Not only RJD but several other parties had said that reservations for OBC women should be included in this. So, what he (Abdul Bari Siddiqui) says now is not relevant. Every woman who votes has a right, and if they have the vision to participate in Parliament, then it is their right. This right was denied to them for many years. Unfortunately, the Bill that should have been implemented in 2024 has been postponed for a future date,” Chaturvedi told ANI.