A derisive comment by Shamanur Shivashankarappa, 92-yer-old Congress patriarch, about Gayathri Siddeshwara, the BJP candidate for the Davangere Lok Sabha constituency, has drawn flak from many, including badminton player Saina Nehwal as well as KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar.
Mr. Shivashankarappa had said that Ms. Siddeshwara was no leader and did not deserve the votes of the people. She had never ventured outside the kitchen and “knows only how to cook”, the leader had said at a campaign meeting in Davangere on Friday.
Ms. Nehwal, who is also a BJP member, took to social media platform X on Saturday and said that the misogynistic remark was “really upsetting”. She said the sexist jibe “is least expected from a party that says Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon”.
Meanwhile, Mr. Shivakumar took to X and said, “I strongly condemn any statement that remotely reeks of sexism and misogyny, coming from anyone. The Congress party’s women-centric guarantees in Karnataka ... are a testament to our ideology that we honour women as an empowered embodiment of progress & prosperity. Both my party and I strongly believe and support women as equal partners in the progress of the country, and no regressive statement can ever change that.”
Ms. Siddeshwara countered by saying the nonagenarian was old enough to be her grandfather and that she had regard for him. “Women are making their mark in every field nowadays, but it seems he was unaware of such developments.” She also said that she was no stranger to politics as her husband, G.M. Siddeshwara, has been a Union Minister and father-in-law G. Mallikarjunappa has been a member of Parliament for several terms.
Incidentally, Mr. Shivashankarappa’s daughter-in-law Prabha Mallikarjun, who is in the fray against Ms. Siddeshwara, is also a person without political experience.
