29, Mar 2019 | CJP Team

You know it is election season when political leaders start making hateful comments about their electoral rivals, comments that target people based on their religion, caste or gender and stem from a deep seated hate of the same.

On March 28, Samajwadi Party leader Feroze Khan, who heads the party in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, made a series of sexist and derogatory comments against former Member of Parliament Jaya Prada.

#HateFreeElections is CJP’s campaign to monitor the public discourse for hate speech during the 2019 elections. This is also a part of our broader Hate Watch campaign. You can take action against hate too, by sending us reports of instances of hate using our Hate Hatao app, and donating to support our efforts.

The comments come just days after the actor-turned-politician joined the BJP. Jaya Prada will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and is likely to go up against SP’s Azam Khan in Rampur. Reacting to this development, Feroze Khan, who is said to be close to Azam Khan said, “Nights would now become more colourful in Rampur.” He added that Jaya Prada would now enthral people with her ghungroos and thumkas.

The highly offensive remarks have now earned Khan a notice from the National Commission for Women (NCW). Khan seems to be following in his mentor’s footsteps. Azam Khan had earlier come in for scathing criticism when he termed Jaya Prada a naachne wali exactly one year ago.

The comment borders of hate speech as it reeks of a deep seated hate for women, especially those who are accomplished and wield a certain amount of power. Jaya Prada has won from the Rampur constituency twice, first in 2004 and then again in 2009.

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