Samajwadi Party distances itself from party MP’s anti-women barb

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party has distanced itself from its MP Naresh Agarwal's statement in which he reportedly used derogatory words for women and used it to criticise BJP and its prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi.

SP state spokesperson and minister in Akhilesh Yadav government, Rajendra Chaudhary, said that "he is not aware of what Agarwal said, but the party does not endorse any unparliamentary remark, if any, made by any SP leader". He also said that Ram Gopal Yadav is SP's national spokesperson and not Agarwal, hence latter's statement should be considered as his personal views.

On Friday, Agarwal, while responding to Modi's allegations that SP has become a property of a family, had reportedly said that "those who don't have any family, doesn't know the pleasure of family life". He had also used a derogatory reference for women and compared them with the BJP.

The statement kicked a controversy with all rival parties condemning Agarwal and asking him to maintain decorum. National Commission of Women ( NCW) chairperson Mamta Sharma said "the commission would send a notice to Agarwal to explain his indecent remark about women". Agarwal on Saturday said that he stands by his statement which he used as an idiom to expose the BJP. "I have not said anything wrong. I used the idiom as an example. I did not aim my comment on any person, I said it in reference to the entire BJP. Modi, himself, attacks Mulayam Singh and calls the PM a thief. So, it is them who are targetting individuals, not us," Agarwal told reporters. "I have not used unparliamentary language. I always use parliamentary language. What I have said is correct and I maintain my stand," he added.