Mr Yadav, we also know what you are

New Delhi: When men laugh at cheap jokes cracked at the expense of wo-men by some idiotic “un-padh” fellow in their midst, not only does the “joke” backfires badly on the jester himself at some point, but it instantly cheapens the reputation of all those who laughed at it. So, what I am saying is that had citizens en masse condemned the pathetic remarks made by the Janata Dal (United) party chief Sharad Yadav in Parliament this week, we might have seen an entirely different political response to the outrage.

For, it wasn’t Mr Yadav alone who caused it. When an otherwise civilised Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad was caught laughing at Mr Yadav’s crass comments, the outrage was further compounded. Ever since that unfortunate slip up, Mr Prasad has attempted to distance himself from the embarrassment by claiming to “disassociate” himself from the controversy and asking

Mr Yadav to “withdraw” the offensive words. But would the arrogant Yadav do it and salvage what remained of his tattered image? Of course, not! Three days later, he was at it, again.

The man is incorrigible and impossible. It is only in our great country that people like Mr Yadav are not kicked out of office and publicly humiliated. We are far too tolerant towards such people. It is equally shocking that so many women in Parliament did not rise to their feet in protest and demand an immediate apology. The ones who did were rebuffed by the coarse and ill-mannered Mr Yadav, who had the nerve to insult human resources development minister Smriti Irani by taunting, “I know what you are!” What is that supposed to mean, Mr Yadav? We can safely guess, of course. But by the same token, anybody can also say, “The world knows what you are.”

Now here’s my point: It’s all very well to defend Narendra Modi’s silence when such touchy issues are raised, by pointing out that he’s an extraordinarily busy man, with a lot on his plate. But given that he has been making much-needed pro-mahila noises of late and issuing statement about taking immediate steps to lift the status of women in India, one would have expected Mr Modi to chastise this uncouth chap and put him in his place for casting aspersions on the character of his minister, Ms Irani, known in political circles as Mr Modi’s pet! Oh oh… wait a minute. Is that the problem? Has Ms Irani been demoted in the pecking order? Is she no longer on top of the hit parade?

Are we supposed to read more into Mr Modi’s silence than just the official excuse (“PM can’t get into every little thing!”) Oh yes, he can. And he should! Besides, this is not

“little”! If an MP takes a nasty pot shot at one of his ministers, it is obligatory for Mr Modi to step in and voice his displeasure. Today, Mr Yadav’s target was

Ms Irani. Tomorrow it could be Sushma Swaraj. Will Mr Modi still keep mum? This is exactly why and how widespread misogyny spreads and grows. Mr Yadav started his disgusting performance by commenting on the colour of women’s skins.

He went on to discuss “beautiful bodies” and “dancers” from South India. He brought in Ram Manohar Lohia in order to justify his nonsensical blubbering (which had zero connection to the Insurance Law (Amendment) Bill he was supposed to talk on). Despite that, he wasn’t shouted down or asked to resign later. That’s how sorry and desperate the situation is in the capital of India.

What chance do women have under such grim circumstances?

It becomes obvious when we tolerate the ranting of people like Mr Yadav, that there is a complete absence of political will to tackle the stepped up attacks on women in our country. Tell me how different is Mr Yadav from those two lawyers in the Dehhi gangrape cas, who were interviewed by the opportunistic Leslee Udwin? Had Udwin also spoken to

Mr Yadav and sought his views on rape and the position of women in our society, she may have extracted equally telling quotes from this rude person, who heads a political party. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that more than half the men in Parliament would also echo the lawyers’ low sentiments. They are brothers under the skin. Those two loudmouth lawyers had it coming. By all means, take away their licences to practice prosecute them for all I care. But why spare our sexist Parliamentarians? Mr Yadav is guilty, too and sorry, but Mr Prasad had no business to laugh!

Our Parliament is being treated like a neighbourhood bar by a few louts. They come there to relax, schmooze, stare at some of the Bollywood ladies, pass remarks that are decidedly unacceptable, make absurd speeches that demean women and and get away with it! What is Ms Irani supposed to do? How does she defend her honour? As we well know, any woman trying to salvage remnants of her damaged self-respect ends up hurting herself further. Mr Yadav, by sniping at Ms Irani and casting nasty aspersions on her character, displayed his own callow prejudices. No matter who or what she is, it is none of Mr Yadav’s bloody business! By putting her down in Parliament, Mr Yadav certainly confirmed what we have always suspected he is no gentleman. And cannot call himself one ever again.