Overview

• On June 5 in Indore, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said he dislikes women wearing skimpy clothes, describing the trend as a Western import at odds with Indian cultural values.
• He likened minimal attire to brief political speeches, arguing that both lack substance, and said he tells selfie-seekers to dress properly before posing with him.
• Opposition parties including the Congress, All India Mahila Congress and Trinamool Congress decried the remarks as sexist and regressive attacks on women’s autonomy.
• Women’s rights groups and social activists warned the comments reinforce outdated stereotypes and threaten individual freedom of expression.
• This is the latest in Vijayvargiya’s series of critiques of women’s clothing, which dates back to his 2022 comparison of ‘bad dresses’ to the demoness Shurpanakha and has kept gender politics at the forefront of public debate.