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Bahadur Singh Koli compared BJP budgets to the “birth of a boy” and Congress budgets to a “girl,” sparking outrage.
BJP MLA Bahadur Singh Koli. (X)
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.
Independent MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati said, “I think he would have said it thoughtfully. As for boys being born, what does that have to do with the budget — I didn’t understand that. He is a senior member, so it wouldn’t be right for me to say much on this”.
Jaipur, Rajasthan: Independent MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati, reacting to MLA Bahadur Singh Koli’s comparison of the budget, says, “I think he would have said it thoughtfully. As for boys being born, what does that have to do with the budget — I didn’t understand that. He is a senior… pic.twitter.com/xhpwIVzvNB— IANS (@ians_india) February 18, 2026
Later, defending his comments, Koli told reporters that his analogy was part of local Brijbhasha expression.
When asked whether he believed his remarks were inappropriate, he responded, “Kya bayan galat tha (How was the statement wrong)? I said a good budget has been tabled; that a chhora (boy) has been born.”
He further said, “They tabled a populist budget ahead of elections to fool the public, which is like the birth of a girl child”.
(With inputs from agencies)
February 18, 2026, 23:19 IST
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