Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat, who took charge of the state a few days back, courted controversy after he said that 'ripped' jeans worn by the women spoiled the children.
''These days ripped jeans are very popular with the women... Is it our culture?,'' Rawat said while speaking at a function at Dehradun, the capital of the state, about 500 kilometres from here, on Tuesday.
He said that the children learned about the culture from their parents. ''What kind of culture will they learn if their parents wear ripped jean?'' he asked.
Rawat said that during one of his plane journeys, a woman wearing ripped jeans sat beside her and introduced herself as a social worker. ''I wondered what kind of social service must she be doing when she herself wears such clothes... The situation was not the same during our times,'' he added.
Rawat said that the youths of the new generation were greatly influenced by the western culture, which was not a ''good sign''.
''Wearing ripped jeans has become a status symbol today,'' he remarked.
The Uttarakhand chief minister's remarks came within a couple of days after he likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lord Rama and said that the future generations would 'worship' him (Modi) like they today worship Lord Ram and Lord Krishna.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand MLA Ganesh Joshi also added fuel to the controversial fire by saying that women should soleley focus on their family and children, NDTV reported. “Women talk about all things they want to do in life, but the most important thing for them is to look after their family and children,” he was quoted as saying.
Rawat, who sworn-in as chief minister of the hill state last week, replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat.
Published 17 March 2021, 12:19 IST