New Delhi: Congress leader Randeep Surjewala’s remark against Mathura MP Hema Malini has snowballed into a major controversy with the BJP on Thursday saying the opposition party has touched a “new low” in showing “disrespect” towards women.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has moved the Election Commission against Surjewala over the issue and said it strongly denounces the “deeply offensive” remarks against the actor-politician, who has been renominated by the BJP from Mathura Lok Sabha seat.
The Haryana State Commission for Women also issued a notice to the Congress leader over his purported “indecent” remarks and asked him to present himself before the panel on April 9 and give a clarification.
While Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the derogatory comments against “matru shakti” are a “disgraceful insult” to half the population, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani claimed that such statements were made “on the directives given by the Gandhi family”.
On Wednesday, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya shared an undated video, accusing Haryana Congress leader Surjewala of making “vile, sexist” remarks against Hema Malini. In the video posted by Malviya on X, Surjewala was seen purportedly making some objectionable remarks about the actor-politician while attacking the ruling BJP.
BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi slammed the Congress over Surjewala’s remarks against Hema Malini, terming his comments “objectionable and indecent”.
The opposition party has touched a “new low” in showing “disrespect” towards women, he said.
“Hema Malini would be of Sonia Gandhi’s age. She is a self-made woman,” the BJP leader said and asked Surjewala if his remarks against her were “appropriate”.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Trivedi referred to other such remarks made by Congress leaders against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and women so far and asserted that the “people of the country will give a reply to such insults in the Lok Sabha polls”.
BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde asked the Congress to make its stand clear on the controversial remarks by its leaders who have shown disrespect towards women.
It seems the main opposition party has run out of issues and has resorted to making comments that nobody expects a leader to say, Tawde said.
Sources said Surjewala made the alleged remarks on March 31 during an election rally in support of the INDIA bloc at Pharal village in the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency in Haryana.
In a post on X, the NCW said, “The remarks are extremely misogynistic and outrageous to the modesty of a woman. Chairperson Rekha Sharma has formally written to the Chief Election Commissioner, urging immediate action against Soorjewala and requesting an Action Taken Report within three days.”
However, Surjewala sought to clarify his remarks and launched a counter attack on the BJP.
In a post on X on Thursday, Surjewala alleged that BJP’s IT Cell has developed a habit of distorting facts and spreading lies so that it can distract the country’s attention from the Modi government’s “anti-youth, anti-farmer, anti-poor policies and failures and its conspiracy to destroy the Constitution of India”.
“Listen to the full video – I said, ‘we also respect Hema Malini a lot because she is married to Dharmendra ji and is our (bahu) daughter-in-law,” said Surjewala.
In Mathura, when asked about Surjewala’s remarks against her, Hema Malini said that only those people who have achieved something in life are targeted.
When asked why the Congress did not initiate action against its leader, she said, “I don’t know. They should learn from our prime minister how to respect women. They should also respect women.”
Addressing the ‘Vijay Sankalp Naamankan Sabha’ in Mathura, Chief Minister Adityanath, accompanied by Hema Malini, issued a warning to members of the Congress and the INDIA bloc, saying that the entire nation is prepared to teach a lesson to those who disrespect “matru shakti” (mother power).
Campaigning for the actor-politician, Adityanath said, “Hema ji is contesting from here for the third time, while other parties struggle to find suitable candidates…some Congress leaders have lost their composure. Their derogatory remarks against ‘matru shakti’ are a disgraceful insult to half the population.”
“Disrespecting half the population will invite nationwide backlash. This land (Mathura) reveres ‘matru shakti’, and any attempt to demean it will face severe consequences. While democracy upholds freedom of expression, it does not justify insulting ‘matru shakti’,” the CM warned.
The chief minister said that while personal preferences may vary, targeting art, culture, and caste is unacceptable. He warned that those involved in such actions are digging their own graves.
Union minister Irani, who was in Kerala’s Wayanad for campaigning for the BJP, said, “The misogyny of the Congress party and its leaders, especially against women in politics, is based on Gandhi’s directives.”
“No Congress man or woman has the audacity to enrage or outrage the modesty of a woman, unless they feel that they will be deeply and duly rewarded by the Gandhi family,” she told reporters.
Irani said that the people of the actor’s constituency — Mathura — would give a resounding reply to the “misogynistic” remarks made against her.
The Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1. The results will be announced on June 4.
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