Mayawati ticket selling skills compared to a sex worker:Sexist slur of BJP politician

July 21 Mau:Badmouthing  politicians is nothing new of throwing verbal refuse at each other to tarnish their image in Indian politics.  BJP’s UP state vice president , Dayashankar Singh ,was in for a surprise as he rebuked  and compared BSP chief Mayawati ‘s party election ticket selling skills to a prostitute, all hell broke loose.

Attending a party meeting in Mau ,where he was felicitated by BJP workers,Dayashankar Singh,chose fiery words to attack Mayawati before the coming 2017 polls.He questioned her character and attributed it  to the reason  why Kanshi Ram followers were deserting her.

A recorded video of Mr Singh was circulated in social media where it reached Parliament causing an uproar in the Monsoon session,with FM Arun Jaitley and Mukthar Abbas Naqvi apologizing to Mayawati for the comments.

BJP’s UP state has sacked  Dayashankar Singh from his post of the state unit’s vice-president and the police have lodged an FIR against Singh under the SC/ST Act and the BJP removed him from the party for 6 years.

These comments from a politician only proves one thing.That while male politicians may be attacked in several ways by their political rivals, their gender is never used as a weapon.

But sexist and misogynist remarks against Mayawati may never stop inspite of having caused uproars and led to apologies.

This is not the first time she is attacked over her gender , appearance, caste,singledom and relationship with Kanshi Ram.

In 2007 ,when actor Sanjay Dutt campaigned for an SP party candidate, he remarked that he would give a hug  and a kiss to Mayawati akin to his Munnabhai style,the top brass of the BSP were unhappy with the comments.

In 2013 SP leader and tourism minister Om Prakash commend about her being an ugly faced marauder was also not well received.

SP supremo Mulayam singh expressed concern about her singledom as whether to address her as Ms ,Mrs. or sister .

BJP leader Shaina NC also expressed doubts whether to address her as a he or she .

This goes to show that such repugnant comments with intent to malign Mayawati’s image is not restricted to the male gender .

Why has there been many racial slurs and attacks against one woman for her humble beginnings in politics?

The answer is that UP has the maximum no.of seats in Lok Sabha so whoever wields power in the state controls the house.

Breaking the  gender stereotype of a sari-clad, bindi-sporting, shy Indian woman. Mayawati is a paradox.

Despite being a single Dalit woman she has considerable clout in the UP politics.This has irked her rivals to demean her and resulted in mudslinging her.

This phenomena of sexist politics is not limited to the Indian politicos.

Shortly after Taiwan’s newly elected president Tsai Ing-wen’s election, she was criticized for being a single woman  and therefore being  ’emotional’ and ‘erratic’ by China’s state news agency Xinhua

Britain’s newly PM Theresa May was not spared when people decried one of her outfits for showing too much cleavage during her budget session and her choice of leopard stripe shoes.

In another incident, Tory leadership rival Andrea Leadsom said that she will have a better stake in the future of UK as she is a mother while May does not have children.