Pretty face, no other talent: Bihar minister's sexist remark about Priyanka Gandhi

Bihar minister Vinod Narayan Jha has stirred the hornet's nest by making a sexist comment on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's big poll plunge.

"Votes cannot be won on the basis of beautiful faces. Moreover, she is the wife of Robert Vadra who is accused of involvement in a land scam case and several corruption cases. She's very beautiful. But other than that she holds no political achievement or talent," Jha was quoted as saying by ANI.

Jha, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, is currently the cabinet minister for PHED department in the state government.

WATCH | Bihar minister's crude jibe at Priyanka Gandhi

The Congress party earlier this week announced a few major changes in its structure in Uttar Pradesh. Priyanka Gandhi, for the first time, was given a party post.

She was appointed as the general secretary of Uttar Pradesh (East).

Priyanka's accession in national politics met with varied reactions -- ranging from Congress and Opposition leaders hailing the move as one reflecting the party's intent to go full throttle in the state ahead of the general election to BJP leaders terming it a ploy to cover up Rahul Gandhi's failure.

With the appointment, the BJP has also raked up the issue of the alleged involvement of Robert Vadra in a land scam case. BJP leaders say her appointment will bring the alleged corruption scandals against Robert Vadra onto the "centre-stage", benefitting the NDA.

Only yesterday (January 24), the deputy chief minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, said the Congress party was feeling happy "over the induction of a woman with a tainted life partner".

The senior BJP leader also scoffed at Priyanka Gandhi's resemblance with her grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

"If a person could become as capable as someone else merely by resembling him or her, by now we would have had many more Virat Kohlis and Amitabh Bachchans. Duplicates do not work in politics. Priyanka might resemble Indira, but there is a big difference," he wrote.

Modi was also quoted as saying by ANI: "The decision [Priyanka Gandhi's appointment] has been taken to threaten the alliance of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-Samajwadi Party as they have sidelined Congress. Priyanka is entering politics as a representative of Robert Vadra. It's rather good as it'll bring Vadra’s matter into limelight."

Another BJP leader and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entry into politics showed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi could not handle politics alone and needed his sister's help.

"Priyanka is a good woman. But her appointment also shows Rahul has understood that he cannot do politics alone, so he asked his sister Priyanka to help him," Mahajan told reporters, as reported by PTI.

She added, "I don't want to get into the family politics of the Congress, it's their own matter. But I would definitely say that a person, who has leadership capabilities, should be given an opportunity to come forward."

The remarks have not gone down well with Congress, which has retaliated by saying the BJP was rattled with the Opposition gathering weight.

"The BJP is rattled. This shows their anti-woman stance and fear of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. She has taken the responsibility of Uttar Pradesh, which BJP was significantly banking on," Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress spokesperson, said.

Another Congress leader in UP, Akhilesh Pratap Singh, said, "They are making such statements because they are really anxious."

(With inputs from Pooja Shali)