BHOPAL: Senior Madhya Pradesh minister and former BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has sparked a new controversy -- this time by saying, “I don’t like girls who wear skimpy clothes.”
Speaking at a public event in Indore, Vijayvargiya, who is also a former mayor of the city, said, “In the West, a woman wearing fewer clothes is considered beautiful. I don't agree with that. In India, we consider a girl beautiful when she dresses well, wears jewellery, and adorns herself gracefully."
While drawing parallels between short speeches and short dresses, the state's Urban Development and Housing Minister said, “In western countries, it’s said that a woman who wears fewer clothes is considered very beautiful and a leader who speaks less is considered good. I don't believe in that. I believe a woman is a form of the goddess. She should wear nice clothes. I don't find women in short clothes attractive.”
“Sometimes girls come to take selfies with me. I tell them – 'Beta, come in proper clothes next time, then we'll take a photo,’” he added.
This is not the first time Vijayvargiya has made controversial statements about women in public.
At a Hanuman Jayanti event in Indore in 2022, he had said, “I won't lie on Hanuman Jayanti... but girls these days wear such filthy clothes... We call women goddesses, but they don't appear that way... They look like Shurpanakha (a demoness from Hindu mythology). God has given you a beautiful body, at least wear decent clothes. Teach your children values.”
The senior Madhya Pradesh minister has also attracted criticism in the past over remarks on a range of issues.
In 2022, amid protests against the Modi government’s Agnipath scheme, he said he would prioritise hiring Agniveers for security arrangements at the party office. “If I've to hire the services of professionals for security arrangements at the BJP office, I'll accord priority to Agniveers.”
In 2020, addressing a seminar in Indore in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Vijayvargiya stirred controversy by alleging that some labourers working at his house were Bangladeshis because they only ate poha. The BJP leader also claimed that heightened security around him was due to a Bangladeshi terrorist allegedly conducting reconnaissance for over a year and a half.
In August last year, Vijayvargiya again courted controversy by claiming that India could witness civil war in 30 years due to rapid demographic changes.
“I recently met a retired military officer, who told me that there will be a civil war in the country after 30 years. He said that 30 years from now, us (Hindus) won’t be able to live here, keeping in mind the fast demographic changes happening in the country. We’ve to think over it seriously and work on making the word Hindu strong urgently.”
