NEW DELHI: Senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui has sparked a controversy with his remarks on women who wear makeup and have bob cuts, saying that they will corner the women’s reservation quota.
Siddiqui made the remarks while advocating for reservations for backward and extremely backward women in the recently-enacted women’s reservation act, at an event organized by the party in Muzaffarpur district on Saturday.
FLASH: Controversial remarks on Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023 by Abdul Bari Siddiqui, RJD’s National General Secretary, stir the pot.
He said “Lipstick & bob-cut women will enter Parliament in the name of women’s reservation.”
RJD leader made strange and objectionable… pic.twitter.com/FWJHV98wdx
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 30, 2023
“If women with makeup and having bob-cut hairstyles enter jobs, will your women ever gain rights and privileges?” he asked, stating, “Establish quotas for extremely backward classes as well, or else women with bob cuts, lipstick and powder will exploit women’s reservation to enter Parliament.”
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His remarks have drawn sharp criticism from various political leaders.
BJP OBC Morcha national general secretary Dr. Nikhil Anand called Siddiqui a “dual-faced, so-called secular leader of RJD.”
FLASH: @BJP4OBCMorcha‘s @NikhilAnandBJP slams RJD’s Abdul Bari Siddiqui over regressive comments on Women’s Reservation Bill.
“Why has Siddiqui never uttered a single word for the Pashmanda, EBC community of Muslims?”
Anand calls him a ‘dual-faced leader’ for neglecting… pic.twitter.com/9YE1YQ6o6T
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) September 30, 2023
JMM Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji said that Siddiqui’s remarks were hurtful to women and stressed the need for promoting women’s participation from backward classes. “We are in the 21st century. One should avoid making such statements which can hurt women,” she advised.
Notably, the JMM and the RJD are members of opposition bloc INDIA.
Union minister and BJP leader Kaushal Kishore labelled Siddiqui’s comments as indicative of a “small mentality.” He said that women elected to Parliament are well-versed in the Constitution and laws, working for the public interest.