Some of the outrage against Dayashankar Singh is as cheap as his remarks against Mayawati

Former BJP leader Dayashankar Singh’s remark against BSP chief Mayawati was cheap and sexist. Calling any woman “worse than a prostitute” is downright wrong and should spark outrage across the nation. So the BJP removing Singh as vice-president of the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit and then later removing him from the party for six years is completely justified. A police team being sent to Singh’s house in Ballia on Wednesday night and an FIR being lodged against Singh under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 504 (intentional insult with intent to breach peace) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act are also completely appropriate actions against the BJP leader. But while it is completely natural for the nation to be outraged over Dayashankar Singh’s crass remarks, the nature of some of that outrage is also as cheap and personal as the remarks which sparked that outrage. [caption id=“attachment_2904322” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] UP BJP vice-president Dayashankar Singh. Screenshot from Pradesh18 video.[/caption] For example, Mayawati herself retaliated to Singh’s remark by making a personal remark against Singh’s family. “The man did not speak against me. He, in fact, used those (shameful) words against his daughter and sister,” IANS quoted Mayawati as saying. Did Mayawati really need to involve Singh’s family members to show how insensitive his remarks were? The BSP chief had already made a number of brilliant statements in the Rajya Sabha which were appropriate responses to Singh. “Today, he has made derogatory comments against me, tomorrow he will use the same language against some other woman member of the house,” she had said in the Rajya Sabha. She had also said that Singh’s comments were an insult to all womankind. Mayawati crossed a line and made the same mistake she had been attacking Singh for when she talked about Singh’s family members. She too made an extremely personal remark against Singh, targeting some people who were in no way related to or involved with Singh’s remark. It was not just Mayawati, however, who made remarks against Singh’s family. BSP MLA Usha Chaudhary also took a cheap dig at Singh’s family and said that it was Singh’s family, in fact, which was “worse than a prostitute”.

What Dayashankar Singh said, I think its Dayashankar's family which is like that: BSP MLA Usha Chaudhary pic.twitter.com/rhJbtgXlB4

— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2016

But perhaps the worst statement came from Chandigarh BSP’s chief Jannat Jahan, who went a step further and encouraged violence by offering Rs 50 lakh to any person who chopped off Singh’s tongue, according to Zee News. Making personal remarks against a culprit’s family and encouraging violence over the issue are not actions which should be taken in retaliation to anything. Two wrongs do not make a right. So while Dayashankar Singh should definitely be arrested and then punished by the judiciary for his actions, other politicians should not use this issue to target innocent people or provoke unnecessary violence. (With inputs from PTI)