India News | Vijayvargiya's Comments on Attire of Women Reveal BJP's Patriarchal Mindset: TMC

Kolkata, Jun 6 (PTI) The Trinamool Congress on Friday claimed that senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya's comment on women's clothes reveals the misogynist and patriarchal mindset of the saffron party.

The ruling party of West Bengal also wondered if Prime Minister Narendra Modi agrees with the "regressive mindset" of Vijayvargiya, a cabinet minister of Madhya Pradesh.

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Addressing a programme in Indore on Thursday, Vijayvargiya said he disapproves of the trend of women wearing “skimpy clothes”, insisting that it was a foreign concept of beauty and not in consonance with Indian tradition.

“If a girl here (in India) wears good and pretty clothes, does good makeup and wears nice jewellery, then people consider her very beautiful. But abroad, if a (woman) wears less clothing, then it is considered good. Now, this is their (foreigners') thinking,” maintained Vijayvargiya.

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The former minder of the West Bengal BJP also termed inappropriate a foreign proverb that compares the short speeches of leaders with the short clothes of women.

Hitting out at the MP minister, the Mamata Banerjee-led party also described the BJP as "anti-women".

"Misogyny, Patriarchy and outright disrespect towards women has become a hallmark of #NariBirodhiBJP." the TMC said in a post on the party's official X handle.

"The usual suspects are at it again! @BJP4India MP and former Nat'l GS @KailashOnline has now said he doesn't like women in skimpy clothes. Does PM @narendramodi agree with this regressive mindset?" the party asked.

In this connection, the TMC also shared on X an old video clip of party MP Mahua Moitra.

In 2023, Vijayvargiya had compared women wearing "dirty clothes" with Shurpanakha, demon king Ravana's sister in the Ramayana. In response, Moitra had said, "Our clothes are not dirty... your mindset is. Our clothes will remain the same as they were, change your mentality."

In the post, the TMC said, "Remember when Smt @MahuaMoitra gave a masterclass to @BJP4India MP Kailash Vijayvargiya for his misogynistic remarks? Yet, they never learn, do they?"

Senior West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim said, "The comments by Vijayvargiya is utterly disrespectful towards women and in line with the earlier comments by several top-ranking BJP leaders on different issues in past. We haven't ever seen BJP leadership admonishing those who made such comments or taking any action."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)