The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lashed out at Supriya Shrinate, chairperson of Congress' social media and digital platforms, on Monday over a controversial social media post about actor Kangana Ranaut, demanding her immediate dismissal from the Congress party. The 'Tejas' actress who is contesting from Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, hit back at the post, asserting the importance of dignity for every woman.
Sharing a screenshot of the contentious post, Kangana Ranaut highlighted her diverse film roles and posted, "We must free our daughters from the shackles of prejudices, we must rise above the curiosity about their body parts and above all we must refrain from using sex workers challenging lives or circumstances as some kind of abuse or slur… every woman deserves her dignity… 🙏".
Union Minister Smriti Irani came out in support of her party colleague and said, "This initiation into politics by fire @KanganaTeam is not a reflection on who you are but on what they have done & are capable of continuing to do for they can’t fathom how to deal with women of steel. March onto victory. Vijayi Bhav!"
Amit Malviya, BJP's national information and technology department head, called Shrinate's comment "obnoxious" and urged Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to take decisive action. He emphasised the need for accountability within the Congress party.
BJP's Shehzad Poonawalla echoed Malviya's sentiments, describing Shrinate's comments as "despicable" and insisting on her immediate expulsion from the party. He questioned the silence of other Congress leaders on the issue and called for Priyanka Gandhi's intervention.
Supriya Shrinate's Clarification
Amid the uproar, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate clarified that the objectionable post attributed to her was posted by someone else who had access to her accounts. She disassociated herself from the comments and blamed a parody account as having caused the incident.
"Someone who had access to my meta accounts ( FB and Insta) posted an absolutely disgusting and objectionable post, which has been taken down. Anyone who knows me will know I would never say that for a woman. However a parody account that I have just discovered misusing my name is being run on Twitter ( @Supriyaparody ) which started the whole mischief, and is being reported," she posted on X.
In a video, she further elabourated, "Everyone who knows me, also knows very well that I can never make personal and indecent comments towards any woman. I wanted to know how this happened. I came to know that my name is being misused on Twitter and a parody account is being operated, named Supriyaparody. They made this objectionable post. Someone copied it from there and posted it on my Instagram and Facebook accounts. I am trying to know who has done this from those who have access. I have also reported this parody account to Twitter..."
However, BJP leader Shazia Ilmi continued to question the Congress leadership dismissing Shrinate's clarification and remarked, "If we look at the social media handles of Congress, they make all sorts of derogatory remarks, post deepfake videos and share objectionable posts. Why are Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi quiet about it? Why have they not suspended Supriya Shrinate from the party?"
She cited Samajwadi Party leader ST Hasan's controversial remarks against BJP leader and actress Jaya Prada delivered after the 2019 Lok Sabha election and questioned why the Opposition remained silent at that time, "... No leader raised their voice against this. Even Jaya Bachchan did not say anything about this."
NCW Asks Election Commission To Take Action Against Supriya Shrinate
The National Commission for Women (NCW) slammed the "lewd and derogatory remarks" and asked the Election Commission of India to take strict action against Supriya Shrinate.
In an X post, it stated, "National Commission for Women is appalled by the disgraceful conduct of Ms. Supriya Shrinate and Mr. H.S. Ahir, who made lewd and derogatory remarks about @KanganaTeam on social media. Such behavior is intolerable and goes against the dignity of women. @sharmarekha has sent a letter to the Election commissioner of India demanding an immediate and strict action against them. Let's uphold respect and dignity for all women."
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