Representative Rick A. Lazio today issued his strongest rebuke yet to critics of his debate tactics, saying it was ''sexist'' to suggest he should not have walked over to Hillary Rodham Clinton's lectern in a challenging manner.

Mr. Lazio, the Republican Senate nominee, said the criticism of his tactic during last Wednesday's debate in Buffalo suggested that ''you can't make a point forcefully if you're a man and the person you are making a point with is a woman.'' He said, ''I just think that that's sexist.''

Mr. Lazio, responding to suggestions from Mrs. Clinton and her aides that he was overbearing, said a ''double standard'' was at play when he was criticized for physically confronting Mrs. Clinton, bringing talk about the role of gender in the campaign to the forefront. In his remarks, Mr. Lazio suggested that he would not have faced such criticism if his opponent were a man; Mrs. Clinton's advisers have argued that he would not have tried such an unusual televised confrontation if he were running against a man.

During the debate, Mr. Lazio walked over to Mrs. Clinton's lectern, waving a sheet of paper, gesturing at her and demanding that she sign a pledge abstaining from using unregulated campaign contributions known as soft money. She declined. Mrs. Clinton's advisers have portrayed his actions as bullying and likely to alienate women.