Kerala BJP Chief Draws Flak After Making Lewd Comment Against Woman CPI(M) Leader

"Chintha Jerome--she should be beaten with a broom dipped in urine," BJP's Surendran said.

Surendran, however, defended himself and said what he said was not unparliamentary.

Source : File photo

Kozhikode: BJP's Kerala state unit president K Surendran on Thursday courted controversy by making alleged derogatory remarks against state Youth Commission Chairperson, Chintha Jerome, saying she should be "beaten with a broom dipped in urine", drawing strong criticism from the ruling CPI (M).

Addressing BJP workers during a protest march against the Left government's decision to levy cess on fuel prices, Surendran alleged Jerome was staying in a "five-star hotel paying Rs 20,000 per day".

"Chintha Jerome--she should be beaten with a broom dipped in urine. She is staying in a five-star hotel paying Rs 20,000 per day. What is her job? What is the job of a state Youth Commission Chairperson?," Surendran said.

Defending himself, Surendran said what he said was not unparliamentary.

"She is engaged in unparliamentary things. She copied (for her thesis). Then receives the doctorate and even after it became a controversy, she is still clinging to that post (Chairperson). She claims to be the leader of a party for the poor but stays in a five-star property...leaders should respect the people," he said.

Criticising Surendran for his remarks against Jerome, who is also a leader of the CPI(M), Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said a public worker should not make such comments.

"Such comments make our public discourse ugly. A public worker must never make such comments. We cannot understand how one can talk in such a cultureless manner. He is a leader of a political party and he should be more careful while making speeches," Vijayan told a press meet at the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

State Higher Education Minister R Bindu also hit out at Surendran.

"Strongly condemn the derogatory statement of BJP leader Surendran. Don't think that you can say anything because she is a woman. Surendran's words are not suitable for the leadership of any organisation," Bindu said in a Facebook post.

A young leader of the ruling CPI (M), Jerome has been facing intense criticism from various quarters for wrongly attributing an iconic work to another well-known poet in the PhD awarded by a university.

However, she denied the charges levelled by the opposition youth outfits.

Opposition parties also alleged she used to stay in a five-star resort with her mother. Jerome later clarified she was staying with her mother at her friend's Ayurvedic centre and it was for providing better medical care for her ailing mother.