Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb raised heckles of many with his ‘sexist’ remark on former Miss World Diana Hayden. Calling international beauty contests “farce”, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader claimed that the results of the pageants were predetermined.
“Whoever participated in the pageants won. We won the Miss World/Miss Universe titles for five consecutive years. Diana Hayden won it too. Do you think she should have won the title?” Deb reportedly said on Thursday raising his doubt on the “process of judgement”.
The 46-year-old leader, who became the first BJP CM in the state after the end of almost 25-year-long CPI(M) rule, praised Aishwarya Rai as the “true representative of Indian women”.
“We see women as goddess Laxmi and Saraswati. Aishwarya Rai represents the Indian women. She became the Miss World and that’s all right. But I do not understand the beauty of Diana Hayden,” Deb said.
The CM, who had previously claimed that Internet was available in the Mahabharata era, added that women in ancient India didn’t use cosmetics.
“Indians did not use shampoo, they washed their hair with methi water and bathed with mud,” he said.
Hayden was crowned Miss World in 1997 while Aishwarya had won the title in 1994.
Twitterati was visibly upset with Deb’s remark.
“’Diana Hayden is not an Indian beauty, but Aishwarya Rai is.’ Biplab Deb, CM Tripura. How come all the morons invariably gravitate towards the BJP?” wrote IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt.
“Diana Hayden is not an Indian beauty, but Aishwarya Rai is.”
Biplab Deb, CM Tripura
How come all the morons invariably gravitate towards the BJP? 🤔
— Sanjiv Bhatt (IPS) (@sanjivbhatt) April 26, 2018
“Someone please tell this attention-seeker that he has a state to govern,” wrote Shiv Aroor.
Someone please tell this attention-seeker that he has a state to govern. https://t.co/0Q08HYoBFg
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) April 26, 2018
Deb’s statement comes barely days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked all party members to stop making “irresponsible statements”.