Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been appointed Congress general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh (East)
Highlights
- "Priyanka Gandhi is beautiful, but has no other talent": Bihar minister
- The minister, Vinod Narayan Jha, is from the BJP
- His remarks follow Ms Gandhi's appointment to a key Congress post in UP
Sexist comments on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's political debut have landed a Bihar minister in a controversy. Vinod Narayan Jha, a BJP leader, says Priyanka Gandhi is just a pretty face with no political achievement.
"Priyanka Gandhi is very beautiful, but has no other talent that I can see, neither does she have the political experience," Mr Jha was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"She must be what, 37-38, or maybe older, 44. Till this age, she has no political achievement. Yes, she is good-looking, God has given her that. But how much can she exploit that," the minister said.
He is certainly not the first minister in Bihar to target the 47-year-old who joined politics this week as a Congress general secretary, in charge of the party's campaign in eastern Uttar Pradesh for the national election due by May.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, also a senior BJP leader, said the Congress was feeling happy "over the induction of a woman with a tainted life partner". He also spoke disparagingly about 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 Gandhi might resemble Indira Gandhi, but there is a big difference," Mr Modi said.
"Priyanka's businessman husband's irregular land transactions are spread across two states and he is facing probes. If the Congress wants to exult over the induction of a woman with a tainted life partner, it is most welcome to do so," he added.