On a day when pepper spray made its way into Parliament, Bharatiya Janata Party legislator R.P. Singh offered bangles and a lipstick to Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti in the State Assembly.
The BJP was agitating in the House against Mr. Bharti.
Mr. Singh also wrote “Porn Minister” on a sheet of paper, which he attempted to stick on the bench Mr. Bharti was seated on.
The BJP was demanding a discussion on the Law Minister’s conduct during a midnight raid at a South Delhi locality and alleged that there were “new disclosures linking him to porn and spam websites”.
Mr. Singh’s “offerings” evoked sharp reactions from the Aam Aadmi Party legislators, who termed it “sexist”. Rohini MLA Rajesh Garg called his act “demeaning to women”.
However, Leader of the Opposition Harsh Vardhan defended Mr. Singh’s saying his act alludes to an old Hindi phrase — chudiyan pehen lo — which means that a person not cut out for a job should sit at home.
“It is not meant to be derogatory,” he said.
