- Karnataka Congress leader C Motamma criticized women using glamour to gain visibility in politics
- She urged women to be assertive rather than obedient to avoid political sidelining
- She warned that smiling and pleasing others will keep women insignificant in politics
A Karnataka Congress leader's comment on women and glamour in politics has led to a barrage of criticism coming her way. The BJP called the Congress leader's remarks disrespectful to women.
C Motamma, who was a minister in the southern state ruled by the Congress, advised women to be assertive in politics, instead of simply being obedient in order to be visible to leaders.
"Today, in politics, women want to show themselves as glamorous so that leaders can identify them. They show obedience to leaders. This attitude has become common," Motamma said at the Mahila Vaibhava, an event that recognised women achievers in the coastal town, Mangaluru.
"But," she added, "Women should stop behaving this way. If they don't, women will continue to be treated as nothing more than a side dish in political decision-making," Motamma said.
She said as long as women limit themselves to just "smiling and pleasing others", they will remain insignificant in politics.
The BJP criticised the Congress leader for her comment that was seen as sexist.
"Across regions, across genders, across states - Congress leaders speak in one voice when it comes to disrespecting women. First MLA Phool Singh Baraiya defended rapists. Now another leader C Motamma mocks women in politics as merely wanting to 'look glamorous'," BJP national spokesperson Pratyush Kanth said in a post on X.
"This isn't a coincidence. This is the Congress's DNA. While the Centre pushes 33 per cent women's reservation, the Congress stays trapped in a sexist, feudal mindset," he added.
The BJP spokesperson, in his reference to the controversy linked to Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya, reminded about what Baraiya told reporters in January - he had linked the crime of rape with caste and religious interpretations.
Referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities, the MLA had suggested that women from these sections are disproportionately targeted due to what he described as a "distorted belief system" rooted in ancient texts.
