On Saturday, BJP Member of Parliament Ravi Shankar Prasad criticized the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in light of the controversy surrounding remarks made by one of its party leaders regarding the women's reservation bill.
Abdul Bari Siddiqui, an RJD leader, had criticized the central government, suggesting that reservations should be provided for women from backward communities, asserting that "those with lipsticks and bob cut hairstyles would come forward in the name of women's reservation."
In response, Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a scathing critique of the RJD, questioning the party's actions during its ten years in power alongside former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He asked whether the RJD had made any efforts to empower the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. His assertion was that they had not.
The senior BJP leader also raised the question of who had prevented the RJD from instituting reservations for women from the OBC category once the Women's Reservation Bill was implemented. He suggested that the RJD's approach primarily aimed at consolidating power within the family, emphasizing leaders such as Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, and Tejashwi Yadav.
Additionally, Ravi Shankar Prasad criticized other opposition parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, and the Trinamool Congress, accusing them of practicing dynastic politics. He asserted that OBC members and ordinary party workers had no place in these parties, which were reserved for family members. He deemed this hypocrisy and double standards as shocking.
Furthermore, Ravi Shankar Prasad condemned Abdul Bari Siddiqui's remarks, characterizing the language he used to speak about women as "shameful, disgraceful, and condemnable."
In response to Siddiqui's criticism of the central government, the BJP MP highlighted the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to empower women in the country. He cited examples of women's achievements in fields such as science, aviation, and sports, emphasizing that their caste should not be a relevant factor.
Following the backlash against his remarks, Abdul Bari Siddiqui defended his statement, explaining that it aimed to simplify understanding for rural people and clarifying that he had no intention of causing offense with his statement.
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