'Bharat Mata not widow': Activist refuses to speak to journalist for not wearing bindi

Maharashtra activist Sambhaji Bhide on Wednesday refused to speak to a female journalist as she had not put a ‘bindi’ on her forehead.

The incident caught on camera, took place after he met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at the state secretariat in south Mumbai.

In a video, the activist can be seen asking the female reporter to apply a bindi on her forehead before coming to take his byte.

आज माझ्यासोबत घडलेला हा सगळा प्रकार.. आपण एखाद्याचं वय बघून त्याला मान देतो मात्र, समोरची व्यक्ती देखील त्या पात्रतेची असावी लागते. मी टिकली लावावी-लावू नये किंवा कधी लावावी हा माझा अधिकार आहे. आपण लोकशाही असलेल्या देशात राहतोय. #democracy #freedom pic.twitter.com/wraTJf8mRn
— Rupali B. B (@rupa358) November 2, 2022

He refused to speak to her and also told the journalist that a woman is like Bharat Mata and that she should not appear like a ‘widow’ by not sporting a bindi, PTI reported.

As the video of the incident went viral, Maharashtra State Women’s Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar issued a notice to Sambhaji Bhide seeking an explanation for his remarks.

साम टीव्हीच्या महिला पत्रकाराला तु टिकली लावली नाही म्हणून तुझ्याशी बोलणार नाही असे सांगत त्या महिलेचा आणि पत्रकारितेचाही अपमान करणार्या संभाजी भिडेंचा निषेध आहे.
याआधी ही महिलांना हीन समजणारी, तुच्छतादर्शक वक्तव्य त्यांनी वारंवार केली आहेत त्यांची मनोवृत्ती यातून दिसून येते.1/2 pic.twitter.com/fVmxNdMivo
— Rupali Chakankar (@ChakankarSpeaks) November 2, 2022

In 2018, Bhide came under fire for his comments that couples were blessed with sons after eating mangoes from his orchard.

‘Bharat Mata not widow’: Activist refuses to speak to journalist for not wearing bindi

As the video of the incident went viral, Maharashtra State Women's Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar issued a notice to Sambhaji Bhide seeking an explanation for his remarks.