Vijayvargiya takes jibe at Nitish with caustic comments then says he respects women

Indore, Aug 19 (PTI) Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has taken a jibe at the political realignment in Bihar, where Nitish Kumar's JD(U) has dumped the saffron party, and quoted a foreign friend as apparently saying such things happen in his country where "girls change their boyfriends frequently".
Vijayvargiya has also said, “The foreigner told me Bihar Chief Minister (Nitish Kumar) was like that - it is hard to tell when he will walk out of a relationship and when he will enter into a new relationship.”
As his controversial remarks, made on Thursday, drew the Opposition fire, Vijayvargiya on Friday said he has immense respect for women and he was merely quoting a foreign friend in the backdrop of latest political development in Bihar and that the objectionable words were not uttered by him.
“I was abroad when the government (of the JDU-BJP) changed in Bihar. On this issue, a man there told me that such things happen there where girls change their boyfriends frequently,” he had told reporters here upon his return from the US.
Facing criticism for his remarks, the former Madhya Pradesh minister said he respects women.
“As far as women are concerned, we respect them. Women are worth worshipping for us. For women, at least for Indian women, we all have immense respect,“ Vijayvarigya said.
The BJP leader said if a person is interpreting his words and presenting them in a distorted form, then it shows he lacks wisdom.
Last week, Kumar snapped ties with the coalition ally BJP and joined hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led grand alliance, which also consists of the Congress and Left parties, to stay put as Chief Minister.
The Janata Dal (United), the RJD, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) slammed Vijayvargiya over his Thursday's comments.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav tweeted, “With BJP people harbouring such a negative approach towards women, how will their condition improve in the country under their rule.”
Taking potshots at Vijaywargiya, Congress Member of Parliament Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted, "BJP general secretary sets a new example in women's respect."
Surjewala also attached the BJP leader's audio and video clip containing his controversial remarks with his tweet. PTI HWP LAL
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)