RJD’s Abdul Bari kicks up new row: Quota to benefit only women with lipstick, bob-cut hair

As the remarks drew criticism from different quarters, the BJP slammed not just the RJD “mindset” but also targeted the Congress and other parties of the Opposition INDIA bloc for not speaking out.

BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan said, “Siddiqui’s remarks reflect the patriarchal, archaic and medieval mindset of the RJD. It is also a well-known fact that RJD is premised on family-based politics. Why has the RJD failed to create a good woman leader all these years? The RJD has been playing politics of separation and divide. As for Siddiqui, he can send his son to study at Harvard but is averse to a level-playing field for women at home.”

Shehzad Poonawalla, also a BJP national spokesperson, slammed the INDIA bloc, saying Siddiqui’s remarks show the “thought process” of the Opposition parties.

He asked why there had been no comment from the Congress and accused it of joining hands with “anti-women” parties.

“No leader of the INDI alliance or Congress party has condemned the statement, which means they agree with it… In Parliament earlier, we have seen the SP and RJD tearing copies of the women’s reservation Bill,” Poonawalla said.

Siddiqui’s remarks are being compared with what the late Sharad Yadav, as Janata Dal MP, had said in Parliament in 1997 about only “par-kati” standing to benefit from reservation for women – the “par-kati” barb meant to imply urban, largely upper caste and upper class women.

Scrambling to defend Siddiqui, RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar said, “Siddiqui was addressing villagers and cited the ‘lipstick and bob-cut hair’ example to explain things in a simple manner. He is a veteran politician, having worked with socialist icon Karpoori Thakur. What he said should be seen in a broader context. The spirit of his speech was in sync with the party line.”

Following heavy criticism, Siddiqui said Saturday: “Since I was interacting with a rural audience in Muzaffarpur, I used lipstick and bob-cut hair references to explain how women’s quota benefits should filter to EBC and OBC women from the urban group. If my words have hurt someone, I apologise for it.”

At the same time, he said he was talking along the RJD’s stated position of having a quota-within-quota in the women’s Bill.