Naresh Agrawal called Jaya Bachchan 'film wali' in a fit of rage: Aparna Yadav

LUCKNOW: A day after newly-inducted Bharatiya Janata Party leader Naresh Agrawal's 'film wali' comment on Jaya Bachchan, Samajwadi Party leader Aparna Yadav on Tuesday said that the former SP leader said it in a fit of rage.

"A leader of his stature should not have used such words for Jaya Ji. I think he said it in a fit of rage. Otherwise, he is a very forward-looking man and has been working for the education of girl child in his area," said Aparna.

Agrawal sparked a controversy with his comment on veteran actress and Samajwadi Party leader Jaya Bachchan, shortly after his official entry in BJP. During his interaction with mediapersons, Agrawal referred to the Rajya Sabha member as "film wali".

Referring to Jaya Bachchan’s selection as Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha candidate, he had said, "Films mein kaam karne wali se meri hesiyat kardi gayi, unke naam par humara ticket kataa gaya, maine isko bhi bahut utchit nahi samjha. Meri koi shart par nahi aya, koi Rajya Sabka ki ticket ki maang nahi hai (I was put at par with a film actor. My ticket was given to her. I have not come (to BJP) on any condition. I do not want a ticket to Rajya Sabha)."

The statement did not go down well with many, including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who took to microblogging site Twitter slamming the same.

In a jolt to the Samajwadi party, senior leader Naresh Agrawal joined the BJP on Monday in the presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal.

Agrawal, who earlier was the general secretary of the Samajwadi Party and a Rajya Sabha member, was reportedly unhappy with the party president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for giving the Rajya Sabha ticket to Jaya Bachchan.

Last week, Jaya Bachchan was picked as the Samajwadi Party nominee for the Rajya Sabha elections from the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Calling Bachchan a loyal leader, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh had said that she deserves to be the Samajwadi Party's candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.

Bachchan was chosen over Naresh Agrawal who has served as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Hardoi constituency seven times.

"Naresh Aggarwal has joined many parties. He started his career in Congress. He was a member of the cabinet of Rajnath Singh. Then intermittently he was in Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and then he came in Samajwadi Party. He is widely experienced," Singh had said.

"So far Jaya Bachchan is concerned, she was consistently loyal to the Samajwadi Party and to the party`s system. She has been loyal to the hierarchy of the SP. So she has proven to be a better politician than Naresh Aggarwal," he had added.