BHOPAL: In the midst of a controversy for his business connections, BJP national leader Nitin Gadkari on Sunday evening courted fresh dispute after he compared the intelligent quotients (IQ) of Swami Vivekananda with that of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim . Speaking at the Ojaswini felicitation programme here to honour leading women from various fields, Gadkari said, "The IQ of both Swami Vivekananda and Dawood Ibrahim would be similar, but their direction in life is so different. One used his intelligence for destructive purpose, to damage society and humanity with the spread of crime and terror while there was the other used his intelligence for the benefit of society. His thoughts remain an inspiration for the nation.'' At the function which was targeted at paying tributes to women, the BJP president also hinted that he was not one of those politicians who advocated reservations for the fairer sex. He gave a scintillating speech to argue that women had the intelligence and power to get to the top of every job. "Whenever people ask me about reservation for women, I tell them that Indira Gandhi and Mayawati did not benefit from reservations," he said. Mentioning the names of several women leaders he explained: There are two ways of getting ahead in life. Take two parallel lines - you can make one longer by deleting the other or you can make the effort and stretch your line much ahead of the parallel.'' Gadkari admitted that opportunities should be given to prove ones talent. He also acknowledged that women have been discriminated against in the Indian society for centuries and that there was no connection between caste, creed religion and gender'' and aptitude and hard-work. He quipped that a gifted worker cannot be suppressed forever. He even quoted Greek physicist Archimedes' theory of displacement to prove that women had the ability to empower themselves without the support of reservations. Archimedes has said so. The heavier the object you throw, that much water will splash out as displacement. The harder you work, that much recognition will be yours and no one can stop it,'' Gadkari explained. In his long 40-minutes speech, Nitin Gadkari avoided any mention about the recent controversy surrounding him. The media attempted thrice in Bhopal to get him to speak on the issue, but he eluded the questions each time.