Thumkewali to dented and painted: 7 sexist statements by politicians

In the wake of suspended BJP leader Dayashankar Singh's shocking statements, comparing BSP chief Mayawati to a prostitute, we look at unsavoury remarks made by male politicians on colleagues from the opposite sex.

Smriti a 'thumkewaali': In December 2012, during a TV debate on assembly election results of Gujarat, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam referred to Smriti Irani as a 'thumkewaali'. ‘Aap toh TV pe thumke lagati thi, aaj chunavi vishleshak ban gayi,' (Till some time ago you were dancing on the TV screens and now you have become a psephologist), he had said. The comments trigged widespread criticism across political circles.

Sharad finds south women beautiful: In March 2015, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav passed a ‘derogatory' remarks on women. He had said. "The body of women from south is as good as beautiful they are. They in our region are not that good as those in south know dancing," Yadav had said in Rajya Sabha during a debate. He also said that British filmmaker Leslee Udwin whose documentary featured the interview of a December 16 gang-rape rapist ‘must have got permission easily because of her white skin'.

Diggy gets it wrong: In July 2013, Congress leader Digvijay Singh courted controversy when he described party MP Meenakshi Natarajan as "sou tanch khara maal" (totally pure), remarks that were slammed as sexist and derogatory. "Our party MP, Meenakshi Natrajan is a Gandhian, simple and an honest leader. She keeps going from place to place in her constituency. I am a seasoned smith of politics. Meenakshi Sou Tanch Khara Maal Hai (totally pure)," the Congress General Secretary had said, addressing party workers in Mandsaur town, MP

Mamata ridiculed: Back in 2011, a CPM leader of Hooghly, Anil Basu, went to the extent of comparing Mamata Banerjee with the sex workers of Sonagachi, a red-light district in Kolkata. Subhas Chakraborty, a late Left leader, mocked Mamata's Maa-Mati-Manush slogan, calling her infertile. "She is an infertile woman; what does she know about Maa?", he had said.

‘Men make mistakes': In April 2014, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that rapists should not be handed death penalty as boys make "mistakes". "Ladke, ladke hain. Galti ho jati hai (Boys are boys. They commit mistakes)," he had said. Mulayam also said, "When their friendship ends, the girl complains she has been raped." Citing the example of a court sentencing three men found guilty of gang-raping two women in the abandoned Shakti Mills in Mumbai, he said there was a need to change the new rape law, which provides for death sentence to repeat rape offenders.

Abhijit Mukherjee with wife

‘Dented and painted': In December 2012, President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee infamously referred to women participating in Delhi gang-rape protests as 'highly dented and painted'. "I wonder whether they are students at all what's basically happening in Delhi is something like pink revolution, which has very little connection with ground realities, he had said.

‘Lipstick and powder' remark: Reacting to the protests against politicians following the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, BJP minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had said, "Some women wearing lipstick and powder have taken to streets in Mumbai and are abusing politicians spreading dissatisfaction against democracy. This is what terrorists are doing in Jammu and Kashmir."