Women MPs of the Trinamool Congress staged a protest at the Parliament complex on Thursday against Union Minister Giriraj Singh's remarks targeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The MPs have demanded his expulsion from the cabinet. The BJP leader made the controversial remark over the Bengal CM shaking a leg with Bollywood celebrities during the Kolkata International Film Festival.
At the event, Mamata Banerjee joined Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Mahesh Bhatt, Anil Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, and others to dance on the stage. Giriraj Singh reacted to the video and said, "Jashn mana rahi hai, thumke laga rahi hai, yeh uchit nahi hai. (She is celebrating and dancing; this is inappropriate.)," as quoted by news agency ANI.
The TMC has two women members in the Rajya Sabha and seven women members in the Lok Sabha. Reacting to Singh's remark on West Bengal CM Banerjee, TMC MP Mahua Moitra said, "The problem with BJP and its ministers is that they are shameless. His (Giriraj Singh) remarks are misogynistic.
Continuing her attack on the BJP MP, Moitra said that Giriraj Singh should not tell us what is necessary and what is not. She further stated that the Ministry of Rural Development, which is handled by Singh, has stolen Rs 7,000 crores worth of MNREGA wages, and he is withholding the wages. She added that Singh used the word 'Thumke lagana', and then he said I've not said these words.
"...I said yesterday, that you (Giriraj Singh) don't tell us what is necessary and not. Your ministry has stolen Rs 7,000 crores worth of MNREGA wages... You are withholding their wages...He is such a liar. He used the word 'Thumke lagana' then he said I've not said these words. That is the problem with the BJP. Every time they open their mouth and their lips move, it is to lie. From top to bottom, this is a party full of liars...the people of Bengal dislike you. They dislike your misogyny. They dislike the fact that you cannot take Nari Shakti. You cannot take women in authority. You cannot take women in power...We would hope that there would be an apology from him but he's even denying his remarks, it is too much to expect," Mahua Moitra told ANI.