Booked for Derogatory Remark Against Jaya Prada, Azam Khan Says Won’t Contest Polls if Found Guilty

New Delhi: Veteran Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan, who stoked a controversy with an “underwear" jibe against actor and BJP candidate Jaya Prada, has said his remarks were taken out of context and if proven guilty, he would not contest elections. In fresh trouble for Khan, an FIR was registered against him for the sexist comments against the actor.

Khan, who faces Jaya Prada in Rampur, said at an election rally on Sunday: “...I want to ask you, should politics stoop so low? 10 years the person sucked the blood of Rampur, I held that person's finger and brought the person to Rampur. I made her familiar with the streets of Rampur. I didn't let anyone touch her. No dirty words were used. You made the person your representative for 10 years. But what is the difference between you and me. Rampur waalon , Hindustan waalon, uski asliyat samajhne main aapko 17 baras lag gaye (understanding the person's real face you took 17 years). I realised in 17 days, that the underwear beneath is of the khakhi colour."

The statement soon snowballed into a political controversy, with several leaders criticising Khan. National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma termed Khan's alleged below-the-belt remarks against Jaya Prada “extremely disgraceful" and said the women panel will be sending a show cause notice to him.

The SP leader in his defence said he had not named anyone and his comments were in reference to a man who once said he had brought 150 rifles with him and would shoot Azam dead. He also accused the media of misinterpreting his comments, saying the media was not fond of him and had caused damage to the country.