Mulayam's remarks over Women's Reservation Bill draw controversy - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's remarks over the Women's Reservation Bill has angered different political outfits, as they now want an apology from him. Yadav at a rally on Tuesday said that if the Women's Reservation Bill would be passed in its present form, it would help women belonging to the families of industrialists and bureaucrats, who were of the kind youths would want to whistle at. Women workers of the Samajwadi Party are not ready for this Bill, asserted Yadav, saying that they would get ready for a prolonged agitation soon. Reacting to Yadav's remarks, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at least fun or insult should not be made of the female sections of our society. "If this is indeed the comment, all I can say that your use of respectful words for all sections of society should increase with your political seniority and political experience," said Singhvi. "If you cannot do much for the female sections of our society, at least do not insult them, at least do not deride them, at least do not make fun of them," he added. Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesperson Subodh Srivastava said that making such derogatory and insulting comments against women and that too at a function organised on the birth centenary celebrations of Ram Manohar Lohia was an insult to the late socialist leader, who had been a great supporter of woman empowerment. Srivastava too demanded an apology from Yadav. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), meanwhile, criticized Yadav's comments, saying that it reflected his cheap and sick mentality. "BSP strongly condemns irresponsible statement given by the SP chief that only women and girls of affluent class would get benefit of the women's reservation and youths would pass comment on them," said BSP state President Swami Prasad Maurya. "Such a childish statement is unbecoming of a person, who had been the Chief Minister of the state and had been a Union Minister," he added. The Samajwadi Party supremo addressing his party workers said the Bill would benefit only those women belonging to the families of industrialists and bureaucrats, adding that not a single male would be elected to the Lok Sabha 10 years after the Bill comes into force Yadav also advocated quota for the fairer sex within political parties asserting that it should be made mandatory to reserve 15 percent tickets to women.