New Delhi: Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil stirred up controversy on Wednesday with his comment on NCP leader Supriya Sule, asking her to “go home and cook” instead of being in politics.
The comment was made by Patil during a protest by the BJP state unit in Mumbai seeking reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local elections.
After the Supreme Court allowed reservation for the OBCs in local body elections in Madhya Pradesh, Sule had said that she tried to contact MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan but he did not divulge what he did to get the nod for reservation.
While protesting to seek reservation for OBCs in Maharashtra, Patil said, “Why are you (Sule) even in politics, just go home and cook. Go to Delhi or to a cemetery, but get us the OBC quota. Despite being a Lok Sabha member, how come you don’t know how to get an appointment with the chief minister.”
The NCP state women wing president Vidya Chavan took a note of the comment and without naming Patil said that a person who denied a ticket to a sitting woman MLA and contested polls from her constituency is bad-mouthing an MP who has been awarded the Sansad Ratna award (for good performance) twice.
“We know you believe in Manusmriti, but we will not remain silent anymore,” Chavan said. “He should learn to make chapattis so that he can help his wife at home,” she added.
Chavan’s comment was in reference to the 2019 state assembly elections, during which sitting BJP MLA Medha Kulkarni was denied a ticket from Pune’s Kothrud seat to make way for Patil, who was from the Kolhapur constituency.
Supriya Sule’s husband Sadanand Sule also in a social media post criticised Patil’s remarks, saying, “This is the Maharashtra BJP president speaking about Supriya. I have always maintained that they (BJP) are misogynistic and demean women whenever they can. I am proud of my wife who is a homemaker, mother and a successful politician, one amongst many other hardworking and talented women in India. This is an insult to all women.”