Aishwarya Rai has beautiful eyes because she used to eat fish regularly, says BJP minister

Tribal development minister Vijay Kumar Gavit has faced backlash for saying that Aishwarya Rai's beautiful eyes are due to her regular consumption of fish.

Tribal development minister and BJP leader Vijay Kumar Gavit has stoked a controversy with his remark that actor Aishwarya Rai had beautiful eyes because she used to eat fish regularly.

Mumbai - 19th July 2010 - Vijaykumar Gavit, tourism minister (in white), talks to a cab driver after inaugurating the programme aimed at educating over 2 lakh taxi and auto drivers on etiquette - HT Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar (Hindustan Times)

Speaking at a function to distribute equipment to the fishermen community in Dhule district on Sunday, he said, “You must have seen the eyes of Aishwarya Rai. How beautiful they are. She grew up in the coastal area of Mangalore in Karnataka. She used to eat fish regularly and that’s why she has such beautiful eyes.”

Fish is also good for skin, Gavit further said. “Fish has some oil in it and if you eat fish regularly your skin will glow.”

Soon after a clip of his address went viral, leaders from across the political parties reacted to his statement.

“Gavit is a senior leader, and he should not have spoken this way. Even if he has made that statement on a lighter note, people take it as a statement from the leader-minister,” MLA Sanjay Shirsat from Shiv Sena said.

Amol Mitkari, NCP MLC from Ajit Pawar faction, said instead of looking at the eyes of Aishwarya Rai, the tribal minister should look into the issues like malnutrition in tribal areas so that children would get some benefit.

Gavit, a BJP MLA from Nandurbar, is considered an influential tribal leader in north Maharashtra. His daughter Heena is the BJP MP from Nandurbar Lok Sabha constituency. Prior to joining BJP in 2014, Gavit was with NCP and worked as the tribal development minister in the Congress-NCP government.