Ramesh Bidhuri, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate from Delhi's Kalkaji constituency, came under heavy criticism for his recent remarks on Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena.

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During a campaign event at Kalkaji for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, Bidhuri said, "Lalu [Prasad, RJD leader] had said that he will develop roads in Bihar as smooth as Hema Malini's cheeks. Lalu had lied. But I assure you just as we made the roads in Okhla and Sangam Vihar, we will make all the roads in Kalkaji, Sudhar camp and inner and outer roads like Priyanka Gandhi's cheeks."

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Bidhuri is a former two-time Lok Sabha MP from South Delhi.

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He is also a Delhi High Court advocate by profession.

His comment triggered off a lot of attention and went viral on social media platforms.

According to a report on Hindustan Times newspaper, the Congress party candidate from the Kalkaji constituency, Alka Lamba, accused Bidhuri of "insulting" women using his "usual indecent language."

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Lamba also demanded an apology from Bidhuri for the remarks against Gandhi.

She said, "Bidhuri ji should publicly apologise and the top leaders should clarify their opinion on this."

The BJP in a statement said that the party does not tolerate any type of disrespectful comments against women.

The party added that such remarks should not be made by any member or election candidate.

After facing criticism from his own party, Bidhuri issued a clarification.

In a post on X, he said, "What I said, I compared it with what was said earlier. When two people make mistake, both need to rectify. If Congress will rectify their mistake, the same will be done by us as well."

Bidhuri was referring to an old statement of Lalu Prasad Yadav against the actress and BJP MP from Mathura, Hema Malini.

Another controversy 

In another campaign rally in Rohini, Bidhuri made controversial remarks against Delhi's current Chief Minister Atishi Marlena.

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Bidhuri said, "Marlena has changed her father. Earlier she was Marlena, now she has become Singh. This is their character."

In a social media post, Bidhuri expressed regret over his remarks and said, "Some people are making statements on social media for political gains with a wrong perception based on a statement given by me in some context. My intention was not to insult anyone. But still, if anyone was hurt, then I express regret."

This is not the first time Bidhuri has found himself in trouble for making controversial remarks.

Last year during a Lok Sabha session, Bidhuri received backlash for making remarks against BSP MP Danish Ali. 

(With input from agencies)