Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is soon going to get a gift of 1000 bangles from UP Congress women activists for his derogatory remarks about women, reports Mail Today.
Woman workers of the Allahabad district Congress committee are planning to send 1,000 bangles to the leader for his slur on woman MPs on Tuesday, and will request him to wear them.
Mulayam Singh has said his statement was not a slip of tongue. “ I had talked about the catcall deliberately,” he said. The SP chief had said that if the women's reservation Bill was passed in Parliament, there would be a new breed of woman MPs who would be whistled at by men in the cow belt.
“ I stand by whatever I had said. It was a well- thought statement because I wanted my party workers to understand the situation and get ready for a big fight against the Congress. It is a conspiracy to stop poor men and women from entering Parliament,” he said at a party meeting.
He, however, clarified he wasn't against women or the Bill. “ But there should be a quota for poor and Muslim women within the quota. We have every right to demand this because we respect women in the real sense. I had talked about the catcall deliberately and I have succeeded in galvanising my partymen to think about it,” he said.
Mulayam's Tuesday comment was criticised by women from all walks of life. The workers sending him bangles have also asked his daughter- in- law, Dimple, to support their cause and shun Mulayam's ideology.
“ Ram Manohar Lohia had the highest regard for women and Mulayam made the comment on his birth anniversary. The SP chief believes women are only meant for catcalls,” said Moiz Fatima, a Congress worker. Mamta Maurya, another party worker, said Mulayam did not respect any woman, not even his own daughter- in- law.
“ We can also offer him bangles when he comes to Allahabad. In fact, we should have done it during the Firozabad Lok Sabha by- polls when he had said in a rally that Dimple was the youth's sister- in- law and the elderly's daughter.
He can say anything about any woman, even those in his family, when he needs votes,” Maurya said. Kusum Devi, a Congress worker in Allahabad, said the city had given the country great woman leaders, such as the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. “ We cannot allow any politician to insult women,” she said.
Backing the ‘ bangle' move, UP state Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi said: “ Mulayam is terrorised that women are more sincere at work than him. He fears they will marginalise male chauvinists. So, the decision to give him bangles is quite apt.”
Rajendra Chaudhary, the spokesperson of SP's UP unit, said: “ We have 13 and the maximum number of woman MLAs from the state. Mulayam wants to tell people that only rich women are elected to Parliament and the poor should also be given an opportunity.”
