Congress’s social media in-charge Supriya Shrinate’s now deleted post commenting on actor Kangana Ranaut who is going to contest her maiden election from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency in Himachal Pradesh has triggered a political maelstrom. The Congress pointed to the explanation offered by Ms. Shrinate, with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu terming Ms. Ranaut ‘daughter of Himachal’, while the BJP went to the Election Commission demanding action against the Congress spokesperson and former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh mulling legal action against Ms. Shrinate.
On Monday, minutes after social media post by Ms. Shrinate with objectionable references to Ms. Ranaut and the seat of Mandi went viral, she posted a video issuing clarification. “Many people have access to my Facebook and Instagram accounts. Someone from them made an extremely inappropriate post today. As soon as I came to know, I deleted that post. 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,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Ranaut had hit back saying that she had played various roles in movies and every woman deserved dignity. “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...,” she posted on X.
‘Chotti Kashi’
But the controversy continued to grow on as Ms. Shrinate’s clarification cut little ice. Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Jairam Thakur, said the BJP was mulling legal action as the pejorative references had not just been about Ms. Ranaut but also the district of Mandi. “Mandi is known as Chotti Kashi as there are more than 300 temples here and people have immense faith in their deities. It is very unfortunate that a woman Congress leader made such derogatory remarks against Kangana. People will teach Congress a lesson for their remarks against a woman who has earned recognition through her acting skills,” he said.
Ms. Ranaut is expected to reach Delhi to meet BJP President J.P. Nadda. Meanwhile, National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma has urged Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to “take action” against two of its leaders for using “derogatory” language against another woman. She said the NCW had written to the Election Commission seeking “stringent action against the party and the leader.”
The Congress, meanwhile, is busy back-pedaling from a rather difficult position that it finds itself in. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday called Kangana Ranaut the “daughter of Himachal” amid the backlash. “She [Kangana Ranaut] is the daughter of Himachal. Her parents live here. Her father was made the General Secretary of Congress in Mandi...,” he said. Ms. Shrinate’s colleague Pawan Khera strongly defended her. In a post on X, he said, “Anybody who has known my colleague @SupriyaShrinate will vouch for the fact that she can never resort to such objectionable language ever.”
