JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav on Thursday (March 12) made a sexist comment on south Indian women in Rajya Sabha, leaving some male members split their sides with laughter and women parliamentarians dumbstruck. During a debate on the government's Insurance Bill, the JD(U) president started rambling about the Indian obsession with fair skin. "Your god is dark like Ravi Shankar Prasad (present in the House), but your matrimonial ads insist on white-skinned brides," he said. He then went on to discuss the complexion of south Indian women and said, "The women of the south are dark but they are as beautiful as their bodies...We don't see it here. They know dance." Several male members were seen bursting into laughter at his crass comment. Yadav also mentioned filmmaker Leslee Udwin whose documentary 'India's Daughter' included an interview of one of the rapists of the December 16 gang-rape. "She must have got permissions easily because of her white skin," he said. Yadav justified his statement by saying there was no harm in having a non-serious discussion when DMK MP Kanimozhi objected to his remark and asked him to focus on the topic of the discussion.

In a debate moderated by TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, panelists -- D P Tripathi, Spokesperson & MP, Rajya Sabha, NCP; Dr. Ajay Alok, General Secy, JD (U); Gaurav Bhatia, Spokesperson & National Head, Legal Cell, SP; Dr Sambit Patra, National Spokesperson, BJP; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Spokesperson, Congress; Padma Rao Sundarji, Senior Foreign Correspondent & Foreign Affairs Editor, Swarajya Magazine; Anindita Sarbadhikari, Filmmaker; Brinda Adige, Director, Global Concerns of India; Advaita Kala, Author and Jeevitha, Actor -- discuss the issue -- does Sharad Yadav deserve to be in Parliament?