A political slugfest broke out after a Rajasthan BJP MLA drew a gendered comparison between the present BJP government’s budget and that of the previous Congress regime.

While participating in the debate on the budget on Monday, BJP MLA Bahadur Singh Koli compared the BJP government’s financial plans to the “birth of a boy" and those of the previous Congress regime to the “birth of a girl."

“Ours is a youth budget, theirs is an old-age budget. Our government gave birth to a boy in the very first budget, and then again in the second and third budgets. The one who gives birth to a boy in their youth is always useful," he said in the House, as reported by news agency PTI.

I am utterly aghast, ashamed, and heartbroken watching this video from the Rajasthan Assembly. Here we have Bahadur Singh Koli, a BJP MLA, shamelessly spewing sexist venom during a budget debate-comparing the BJP's budget to the "birth of a boy" that's "always useful," while…pic.twitter.com/KSpUUtMgLP— Rajesh Griglani (@griglani)February 18, 2026

Taking a swipe at the previous Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot, Koli said that Gehlot’s last budget before elections resulted in the “birth of a girl, not a boy," and added that this was why the Congress is now in the Opposition.

“And when Ashok Gehlot was the CM, he made announcements in his last budget, but a girl child was born, not a boy child, and hence you’re sitting in the Opposition," he added.

Fellow BJP MLAs laughed during his speech instead of interrupting him. The Speaker did not object to the comments, but some Congress MLAs raised objections inside the Assembly.

The remarks drew sharp reactions from Congress members on Tuesday. Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully criticised the statement as discriminatory and inappropriate for a serious budget discussion.

“On February 16, your MLA, while speaking on the budget, was making remarks that discriminate between a son and a daughter. Your MLAs were laughing. I feel ashamed that even today, such thinking persists. I, too, have two daughters; I have just married off one of them. And BJP MLAs still hold such views about daughters in this day and age," Jully said.

Jully demanded that the ruling party clarify its stand and said such gender-based analogies had no place in a serious budget discussion.

Source: Politics News in news18.com, Politics Latest News, Politics News