Tejasvi Surya Slammed for 2015 Tweet on Arab Women, Deletes It

“95% Arab women have never had an orgasm in the last few hundred years...” Tejasvi Surya had tweeted in 2015.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya on Sunday, 19 April, was forced to delete a 2015 tweet on Arab women after he was slammed and called out for the ‘misogynistic nature’ of his post.

Surya, who was elected from Bengaluru South in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, had tweeted:

“95% Arab women have never had an orgasm in the last few hundred years. Every mother has produced kids as an act of sex and not love: @TarekFatah”

The politician was quoting Pakistani-Canadian journalist and author Tarek Fatah from an interview with Swarajya magazine, titled: ‘Tarek Fatah: Breaking Down Jihadi Terror’.

Surya’s tweet went viral after five years, triggering a storm of responses and call for action against him.

‘Racial Slur’: Surya’s Tweet Questioned by Arab Community

Kuwaiti lawyer and Director of International Human Rights Mejbel Al Sharika shared the screenshot of the tweet and wrote: "Dear @Twitter, this Indian politicians @Tejasvi_Surya has racially slurred Arab women, I wonder how is his account still active? Is it not against Twitter's official policy?”

Dear @Twitter , this Indian politicians @Tejasvi_Surya has racially slurred Arab women, I wonder how is his account still active? Is it not against Twitter's official policy? Please act as Arab sentiment has been badly wounded. pic.twitter.com/JAM3hnDEjN

— المحامي⚖مجبل الشريكة (@MJALSHRIKA) April 19, 2020

Another Twitetr user Noora AlGhurair from UAE tweeted that Surya had “no respect for women” despite India having some great women leaders.

Pity Ur upbringing @Tejasvi_Surya that respect for women couldn’t be instilled in U despite India having some great female leaders .Please note if someday the govt bestows a foreign ministry to you, avoid travelling to Arab lands. You are not welcome here. This will be remembered pic.twitter.com/KJJlqJL5tR

— Noora AlGhurair (@AlGhurair98) April 19, 2020

‘India Embarrassed, Humiliated’: Congress

Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha took a dig at BJP, saying that the party’s ticket to Tajasvi Surya was to popularise their “bigoted political profile.”

The BJP gives tickets to Praggya Singh Thakur and #TejasviSurya etc because it helps popularise their hardline bigoted political profile.

But the chickens usually come home to roost. Today, India stands embarrassed, humiliated.

— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) April 20, 2020

The awful @Tejasvi_Surya tweets something disgusting about Arab women, embarrasses the entire country and now deletes his misogynistic and bigoted tweet and slinks away. So very typical of the party he belongs to

— Ajay Kamath (@ajay43) April 19, 2020

A few other Twitter users called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take action against Surya.

Finally, @Tejasvi_Surya has arrived! His poisoned mind was always known. Those who voted for him should repent. https://t.co/b22SexRa5Y

— nikhil wagle (@waglenikhil) April 20, 2020

This is really rediculus statement given by @Tejasvi_Surya, which he deleted later.
He not only insult the #Arab women but also showed his mentality towards women.
He showed with which values n ethics he grew up. Mr PM @narendramodi what action u r going to take against your MP? pic.twitter.com/F3PP3tNBG8

— Sumra (@Sumra_tweets) April 19, 2020

When Surya Deleted a 2014 ‘Misogynistic’ Tweet

In a 2014 tweet, Tejasvi had written about “dreading” the day Women’s Reservation Bill becomes a reality. The women’s reservation has been stalled over the years with members across party lines blocking it.

“With the exception of Women’s Reservation in Parliament, Modi govt agenda is inspiring. Dread d day when women’s reservations becomes a reality (sic),” Surya tweeted in June 2014, days after Narendra Modi was sworn-in as the prime minister.

He was again forced to delete the tweet, after social media called it out post his nomination to fight the Bengaluru South seat in March 2019.