Opinion: Heartening to see BJP women politicians uniting for Jaya Bachchan

The remarks made by Naresh Agrawal, who recently joined the BJP, against Jaya Bachchan brought out the worst our politics has to offer. But equally refreshing was the united front our women MPs put forward when it came to criticising Agrawal, a former Samajwadi Party leader.

Irrespective of differing political ideologies, the unity among women politicians showed how much they value women's dignity. While women had been fighting a tough battle for their political inclusion to bridge the gender disparities in the nation, some male political leaders are irked by the same. 

Agrawal showed his resentment over being denied a chance to enter the Rajya Sabha. Samajwadi Party, which had only one Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh, chose actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan over Agrawal. This displeased him, to such an extent that he quit the party. But within a few hours of joining BJP, he openly projected his envious feeling against Jaya Bachchan at a press conference on Monday, making a misogynist comment that he was denied the Rajya Sabha ticket for somebody who "used to dance in films". 

The sexist comment rattled not only the targeted Mrs. Bachchan, but many other women politicians. Although political parties are always ready to demean other party's leaders, this time the dirty politics was beaten by a strong condemnation, in the form of an outcry not just from Agrawal's party but other fellow politicians as well.

BJP leader Smriti Irani, who is herself fighting a defamation case against Sanjay Nirupam for allegedly making a sexist remark about her political entry, was the most vocal of Agrawal's critics. She was amongst the first ones taking a bold stand in favour of Jaya Bachchan. She expressed her emotions on Twitter. 

Jaya Bachchan got support from other women political leaders too. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj rebuked Agrawal in a tweet, expressing her strong objection to his remark. 

The horde fighting for and supporting the dignity of women in politics further grew when BJP leader Roopa Ganguly, another actor-turned-politician, exhibited her dismay over Agrawal's comment. 

Though Agrawal's remarks were disheartening for the entire female population, it united women politicians with harmony and mutual empathy. Each and every stand in favour of Jaya Bachchan showed that political failures cannot be used as an excuse to malign the dignity of a woman. Whether it is Smriti Irani or Jaya Bachchan, if the question is about women's dignity then no matter which political party a woman leader belongs to, her stature will always be above inter-party differences.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)