Sagarika Ghose: Hi there. "Biwi purani ho to maza nahin aata (when wives grow old there is no more fun), so said Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal at a public function. He's not the first politician to make such statements. An FIR has now been lodged against Jaiswal and women's groups and women MPs have protested strongly. Jaiswal has apologised. But apology or not, does Jaiswal's statement once again reveal the deep gender biases that exist among India's politicians or should it be taken with a sense of humour? To debate that, we have tonight, Mani Shankar Aiyar, MP of the Congress. Joining us Meenakshi Lekhi, advocate of the Mahila Morcha and national Vice-President of BJP. Sagari Chabbra, documentary filmmaker joining us. Madhu Kishwar, editor of Manushi joining us. Mani Shankar Aiyar let's start with you, what do you think of Sriprakash Jaiswal, your party colleague's statement that old wives are no fun? Has he made a shocking statement, for a union minister to say at a public platform, or are the women's groups being prisoners of political correctness and failing to have a sense of humour?
Mani Shankar Aiyar: Well it is a stupid statement and it is not connected with him being a politician. This is a stupid statement for him to be made as a man, as hopefully a gentleman. He was at a kavi sammelan when he said that and presumably he has proven that he is a bad poet.
Sagarika Ghose:
11:59 AM, Oct 04, 2012
Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal's remark on 'old wives' has sparked a storm. Tonight at 10, CNN-IBN Deputy Editor Sagarika Ghose discusses with a panel of experts whether gender bias is deep rooted in Indian politics. You can ask a question to our panelists here or tweet us @face_the_nation.
11:01 AM, Oct 03, 2012
New Delhi: Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal is being dragged over coals, but this time for saying old wives are no fun. Pressure from an embarrassed Congress, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Commission for Women forced him to apologise later. But Jaiswal still feels he did nothing wrong. Talking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Jaiswal said, "I never said anything like that. All I said was that...
07:44 AM, Oct 03, 2012
Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, under pressure over a sexist remark, has offered a tame apology. ...
11:11 PM, Oct 02, 2012
New Delhi: Women groups are up in arms over Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal's controversial comments with the National Commission for Women saying that the minister must apologise for his remarks. Taking cognisance of it, the Congress has also asked the Union Coal Minister to clarify his comments. Criticising Jaiswal over his comments, NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma said, "The statement is very unfortunate. We will write a letter to Prime...
05:19 PM, Oct 02, 2012
New Delhi: The government on Friday rejected the CAG report estimating Rs 1.86 lakh crore gain to private firms in allocation of coal blocks and said the policy followed was transparent and not faulty. "The policy adopted to allocate coal blocks was not faulty. There could not be a more transparent policy for allocation of coal blocks (since 2004 when no competitive bidding process was present)," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal...
04:51 PM, Aug 17, 2012
Kanpur/New Delhi: Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal courted controversy by saying that many government departments suck blood like mosquitoes but he clarified on Monday this remark was not aimed at the Finance Ministry. "For only 100 crore rupees revenue I realise how much you will have to go through. Like mosquitoes in the night, in our country there are some departments that also suck blood," he said on Sunday at an...
04:41 PM, Mar 26, 2012
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) on Friday announced a 20-member team for Ranji Trophy and another 20-member side for Under-22 tournaments for the upcoming season, scheduled to commence from November. "Chief coach Bishen Singh Bedi has finalised 20 cricketers each for Ranji Trophy and under-22 tournaments," Chairman of JKCA, Mohammad Aslam Goni, told reporters here. Deepak Manhas is the only fresh face in the Ranji team while Abid...
03:05 AM, Feb 29, 2008
London: England captain Alastair Cook was pleased that his side could handle pressure and come up trumps in the third ODI against India at The Oval on Friday. It was pleasing the way we handled the pressure towards the end. A lot of credit goes to Ravi (Bopara) for the manner in which he played, backed up by Bresnan, said Cook, after his side won the game by three wickets....
10:44 PM, Feb 27, 2008
London: Despite the stalwarts missing from the lineup, young Indian batsmen have shown the mettle to keep the visitors hopeful of registering their first win on the tour when they take on England in the third ODI here at The Oval on Friday. Though the bowling has worn an ordinary look ever since the departure of Zaheer Khan, the batting has shown signs of holding together with the likes of...
03:46 PM, Feb 27, 2008
Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines' daughter-in-law, filed a complaint of harassment against her in-laws. ...
06:40 PM, Nov 02, 2006
