'Sorry Some People Are Offended': Shashi Tharoor After Being Trolled For Photo With ‘Attractive’ MPs
While sharing the image on his official Twitter handle, Tharoor captioned it as, "Who says the Lok Sabha isn’t an attractive place to work?”
New Delhi: Is the Lok Sabha a desirable workplace? Shashi Tharoor, a Congress Member of Parliament, hinted at this when he tagged a photo of six female Members of Parliament. The photograph was taken during the opening of Parliament's Winter Session. However, the image was slammed as being "sexist."
Supriya Sule, Preneet Kaur, Thamizhachi Thangapandian, Mimi Chakraborty, Nusrat Jahan, and Jothimani along with Tharoor appeared in the photograph. While sharing the image on his official Twitter handle, Tharoor captioned it as, "Who says the Lok Sabha isn’t an attractive place to work?”
Who says the Lok Sabha isn’t an attractive place to work? With six of my fellow MPs this morning: @supriya_sule @preneet_kaur @ThamizhachiTh @mimichakraborty @nusratchirps @JothimaniMP pic.twitter.com/JNFRC2QIq1
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 29, 2021
Many people were outraged, including Rekha Sharma, the chairperson of the National Commission for Women, who reposted the tweet and wrote, "Stop objectifying women in Parliament." Others echoed this sentiment, accusing Tharoor of reducing "elected political figures to their appearances" and labelling his post "sexist."
You are demeaning their contribution in parliament and politics by make them an object of attraction. Stop objectifying women in parliament. https://t.co/RGdie3rPpJ
— Rekha Sharma (@sharmarekha) November 29, 2021
Later, Tharoor stated that the photo — a selfie that appears to have been shot by Chakraborty — had been taken and posted at the request of the women MPs and that he was "sorry" that "some people are offended."
The whole selfie thing was done (at the women MPs' initiative) in great good humour & it was they who asked me to tweet it in the same spirit. I am sorry some people are offended but i was happy to be roped in to this show of workplace camaraderie. That's all this is. https://t.co/MfpcilPmSB
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 29, 2021
The 25-day Winter Session of Parliament, which began November 29, witnessed a tumultuous affair. The Farm Laws Repeal Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha without holding any discussion or debate.