Who Is Bahadur Singh Koli? BJP MLA’s Viral Sexist Remark in Rajasthan Assembly Sparks Row — Watch Video

A political firestorm followed in the Rajasthan Assembly when BJP MLA Bahadur Singh Koli garnered a lot of criticism after what most people have termed as sexist remarks when he made a budget speech. On February 16, when the state was discussing the budget, Koli said that the financial arrangements of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government were like the birth of a boy whereas the financial arrangements by the preceding Congress government were like the birth of a girl, suggesting that the two are qualitatively different.

Watch The Viral Video Of BJP MLA Bahadur Singh Koli

He framed the BJP budget as a young and useful budget, stating that his party had given a son in successive budgets but the Congress had given a girl, which he said was the reason why the party finds itself in opposition.

His remarks, which were filmed by a video that quickly spread into the social media, were immediately met with a rebuke by opposition lawmakers and critics as they perpetuated negative gender stereotypes. The response by the congress leaders to the comments was fierce, with them terming them as discriminatory and unsuitable discussion in a legislative platform.

Congress Reacting To The Video

Congress senior spokesperson, Pawan Khera, expressed regret that a member of the Rajasthan state assembly made such remarks, and that gender based comparisons should not be a part of any serious policy debate.

One of the reasons why this rhetoric undermines the worth of daughters could be the argument by the members of the opposition and social organisations that such rhetoric sends harmful messages about gender equality in society. A number of organisations had even written memorandums to the Assembly Speaker requesting disciplinary action and apology to the public by the MLA over the remarks. 

Bahadur Singh Koli’s Statement

To justify his words, Koli told the press later that he did not see anything bad about his analogy as he had simply used a local dialect to explain his point regarding the economic trend that the state took. He wondered why his comments were under attack and insisted that he was intending to applaud the performance of the budget by the government. However, the controversy has brought back the gender sensitivity debate in the political arena with the critics arguing that those in the limelight should be more conscious with regard to their choice of words affecting social attitudes as well as perpetuation of the old norms.

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