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Remarks on Bihar women by husband of Uttarakhand’s Women Empowerment Minister spark outrage: ‘Shameful statement’

Rekha Arya’s husband Girdhari Lal Sahu later said his remarks were twisted and issued an apology ‘if my words have hurt anyone’

2 min readDehradunUpdated: Jan 3, 2026 01:56 PM IST

Rekha Arya, Rekha Arya husband Remarks on Bihar women, Remarks on Bihar women, Bihar State Women Commission (BSWC), Indian express news, current affairs

In the video, purportedly from Daulaghat in Almora, Sahu is heard asking a man why he had not gotten married. “You can get women in Bihar for Rs 20,000-25,000. Come with me, we will get you married,” Sahu is purportedly heard saying.

A video in which the husband of Uttarakhand’s Women Empowerment and Child Development Minister, Rekha Arya, can purportedly be heard making controversial comments about women in Bihar has sparked outrage.

The Bihar State Women Commission (BSWC) on Friday said it would serve a notice to Girdhari Lal Sahu, Arya’s husband.

Reacting to the remark, the Congress said in a post on its official X handle that, through the “shameful statement”, Sahu is putting a price on the daughters of Bihar. “In Uttarakhand itself, pressure was put on Ankita Bhandari (a 19-year-old whose murder in 2022 in Rishikesh made national headlines) by a BJP VIP leader to provide ‘special service’, which cost her her life. Such vile and petty thinking shows that there is no respect for women in the minds of BJP leaders. This is their real ‘conduct-character-face’,” the post said.

Sahu later posted a video saying that his words had been twisted by opponents and that he did not intend to disrespect women. “I was speaking to a friend. This has been convoluted and presented to the media… If my words have hurt anyone, I seek forgiveness with folded hands,” he said.

Bihar State Women Commission chairperson Apsara condemned the comments. “His comments are highly condemnable. This shows his mental bankruptcy. How can he make such a statement about women when his wife is already a minister in the Uttarakhand government?” the BSWC chairperson said.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Mahila Congress president Jyoti Rautela said that the Mahila Congress not only strongly denounced the remark but also demanded an explanation from Rekha Arya, given her position as the Women Empowerment Minister. It has also lodged a complaint at Dalanwala police station, demanding legal action against Sahu.

(With PTI inputs)

Aiswarya Raj

Aiswarya Raj is a Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, covering Uttarakhand. She brings sound journalistic experience to her role, having started her career at the organisation as a sub-editor with the Delhi city team. She subsequently developed her reporting expertise by covering Gurugram and its neighbouring districts before transitioning to her current role as a resident correspondent in Dehradun. She is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) and the University of Kerala. She has reported on the state politics, governance, environment and wildlife, and gender. Aiswarya has undertaken investigations using the Right to Information Act on law enforcement, public policy and procurement rules in Uttarakhand. She has also attempted narrative journalism on socio-economic matters affecting local communities. This specific, sustained focus on critical regional news provides the necessary foundation for high trustworthiness and authoritativeness on topics concerning Uttarakhand. ... Read More

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