Indore, Sep 22 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya on Tuesday expressed regret after his remark about weight gain by a woman councillor here sparked a political controversy, with the BJP leader also accusing the Congress of misrepresenting his statement.
In a video of Vijayvargiya that surfaced on social media, he is heard saying, “A lot of development work has been done in the ward of a very active councillor in my assembly constituency. Whatever I said about her in my speech during that time has been misrepresented by the Congress people.”
He said the woman councillor was like his daughter, and that he himself fed her when she was a child.
Vijayvargiya said that the woman councillor and he himself were saddened by the way Congress leaders presented his statement and the media coverage of it.
“I express regret in this regard,” the state Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.
Addressing a public event in Indore on Sunday, Vijayvargiya praised the councillor’s hard work in developing a civic ward and said she has carried out numerous public welfare projects in her area.
During his speech, Vijayvargiya, alluding to the female councillor’s weight gain, jokingly remarked that her width had increased slightly. A video of the speech has circulated on social media, showing leaders on stage laughing after the cabinet minister’s comment.
Opposition Congress linked this comment to body shaming, and questioned the ruling BJP’s claims of respecting women.
A Congress leader hit out at the BJP, saying that while the ruling party talks big about women’s respect, its senior leader like Vijayvargiya openly mocks the physical appearance of a female councillor, which reveals its true character.
(PTI News)
