New Delhi, April 22 (IANS) Purnea Lok Sabha MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav is facing an all-round backlash for his purported derogatory remark against women, with both National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Opposition leaders echoing a similar view.

The Bihar State Women’s Commission has already issued a notice to Yadav in this regard and asked him to file a reply within three days.

Reacting to Yadav’s remark, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad said: “I don’t want to fall into this type of thinking. I and my party are of the view that God exists wherever women are worshipped.”

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal called for the termination of his Lok Sabha membership.

“The words used by Pappu Yadav were so shameful that I feel embarrassed even to repeat them. This is our country, where women are worshipped as Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali, and in many other forms. The words used by him for women should be taken into notice by the Lok Sabha Speaker,” Khandelwal told IANS.

Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “Such people should not be spared, regardless of which party they belong to. Strict action should be taken by the police and the Central and state women’s commissions. Such people should be permanently put in prison. “

Congress Maharashtra MLA Vijay Wadettiwar said: “Using such inappropriate language against women is not forgivable. Whoever the leader may be, if they use such language, action should be taken; that is the stand of the Congress.”

JD-U MLA Shalini Mishra said: “Whatever he said reflects his mindset. Condemning it would be a very small thing. He has abused not only the women of Bihar but also the women of the country. He should apologise; otherwise, all of us women would take to the streets to protest.

Meanwhile, the Purnea MP addressed a press conference to issue a clarification regarding his remarks.

“Women who have progressed on their own, whether as doctors or as engineers, must come forward. Today, 90 per cent of women in India are supporting what we are saying. When such a large number of women stand with us, why should there be any fear?”

“We have not taken anyone’s name; we spoke in general about all women. We also said that even within the remaining 10 per cent, there are good people. Then why did it hurt you?” he added.

–IANS

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