New Delhi: A serious controversy erupted on Wednesday when Haryana Congress chief Randeep Singh Surjewala apparently made “sexist” feedback towards Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Mathura MP Hema Malini by insinuating that the veteran actress was elected to “lick”. The BJP was fast to take word and slam the Congress chief and even alleged that it confirmed the primary opposition social gathering’s misogynistic strategy.
As political fervour is excessive in India forward of the Lok Sabha elections, some politicians are identified to cross all kinds of pink strains that find yourself stoking main controversies. Such controversial remarks are by no means unusual throughout campaigns for upcoming elections. In an identical state of affairs, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat sparked a serious row when he remarked that ladies carrying “ripped jeans” cannot present to proper form of tradition.
What did Tirath Singh Rawat say?
Tirath Singh, who was the Uttarakhand CM for little over three months, was invited to a workshop organised by by the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in Dehradun on March 16, 2021, when he expressed ‘shock’ at seeing a girl working an NGO carrying ripped denims and stated that such girls will be unable to impart cultural values upon kids. This occurred not lengthy after he changed Trivendra Singh Rawat as CM.
“Recently when I was returning from Jaipur…I noticed a woman sitting beside me. She was wearing gumboots and ripped jeans exposing her knees. The woman, who runs an NGO, was with her two kids. What kind of values would you give to your children?… Kaynchi se sanskaar (culture by scissors) – showing bare knees, wearing ripped denim and looking like rich kids – these are the values being given now. Is this good?” he stated.
“If such women go out in the society to meet people and solve their problems, what kind of message are we giving out to society, to our kids? It all starts at home. What we do, our kids follow. A child who is taught the right culture at home, no matter how modern he becomes, will never fail in life,” he added.
Furore over Tirath Singh’s remarks
Rawat’s remarks triggered a furore with leaders slicing throughout political events and the media severely criticising him and terming his assertion “sexist”. Former Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha reacted sharply over Rawat’s assertion and questioned whether or not the BJP endorsed such remarks made by the then-CM.
Congress organised a number of protests the place girls sported ripped denims and held their infants in their arms to ship a robust message to the BJP chief. Even celebrities joined opposition leaders in flooding the social media with photos of ladies carrying ripped denims with the hashtag #rippedjeans dominating X (then Twitter) handles.
“May Bjp rule for another 50 years but…. ripped jeans and boots will rock forever! Men don’t tell us what to wear! I wear shorts and snickers, I dance like a hip hopper, I chant Hanuman chalisa, I vote, I travel like a Gypsy and I cancel Men like him. Stop,” wrote Bollywood actress Koena Mitra on the time.
Actress Gul Panag posted an image of herself along with her child carrying ripped denims and captioned: “#RippedJeansTwitter”
Tirath Singh’s ‘apology’
The controversy intensified a lot that Tirath Singh’s spouse Rashmi needed to come to his defence and say that it’s on the onus of the girl to protect the tradition. Facing flak, the previous Uttarakhand CM stated he apologises for the comment if it had damage someone, however maintained his objection to “torn” denims, saying they’re “not right”.
He careworn that he made the remark to maintain the youngsters away from intoxicants and different evils. One 12 months after the remarks, when he was now not CM, Tirath Singh stated his views on carrying ripped denims “remained unchanged” and it isn’t a part of India’s tradition.
“I was never against wearing jeans. I myself wore it when I was younger. My statement was against ripped jeans and I stick to it. Isn’t it strange that new pairs of jeans are bought from the market and ripped here and there using scissors before being worn? Wearing tattered clothes was never a part of the Indian culture. Even today, people in India do not attend functions in ripped jeans,” he stated.
Notably, the furore over his remarks towards girls carrying ripped denims had barely subsided afterwards when he had walked into one other controversy by saying India was dominated for 200 years by the United States prompting the opposition leaders in the state to query his information of historical past.
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