PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal national general secretary Abdul Bari Siddiqui has said that women who have bob cut (short hair) and use lipstick would benefit through the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill. Following this statement by Siddiqui, the BJP lashed out at the RJD and claimed that the party has an anti women mindset.


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While addressing a gathering in Muzaffarpur on Friday, Siddiqui demanded reservation for women who qualify under the Other Backward Castes (OBC) and Extremely Backward Castes (EBC) quotas. “If women with bob cut and lipstick get into Parliament, the rights of women living in the rural areas would not be advanced. If the Centre is looking for reservation for women, it should give it to women belonging to the OBC and EBC.,” Siddiqui said.


The Narendra Modi government got the bill passed in both Houses of Parliament and the RJD also supported the bill in the Rajya Sabha. It was then sent to President Droupadi Murmu who signed the bill into law. With this, women get 33% reservation in Parliament and the state assemblies. Siddiqui was demanding reservation within reservation in the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill especially for EBC women.


Siddiqui had also given controversial statements in the past. On December 22, 2022, he claimed that he is not feeling safe in the country and hence he asked his children to settle abroad and if they get citizenship there they should accept it.


Meanwhile, BJP OBC Morcha national general secretary Dr Nikhil Anand reacted sharply to Siddiqui's anti-women statement: "This RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui is the same leader who was publicly telling his son not to come back to India and to settle abroad because India is no longer worth living in. He is very worried about the Hindu OBC- EBC community. He is the so-called secular leader with double standards. He never paid attention to the prejudices within the Muslims. Till date, he has not uttered even a single word about the misery and tragedy of OBC and EBC Muslim's and the Pasmanda Samaj."