Despite Clarification, Shrinate – Ranaut Slanging Match Continues, BJP Silent over Dillip Ghosh Remarks against Mamata Banerjee

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DEHLI, Mar 26: Even as the BJP has launched a major offensive against the Congress for alleged derogatory remarks by a party leader against its Mandi candidate and film actress Kangana Ranaut and the National Commission for Women (NCW) demanding action against the Congress leader, the party is silent over its former West Bengal chief making objectionable remarks against the chief minister and the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

Though the Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate within minutes of the offensive post against Ms Ranaut issued a video clarification and claimed that she had not made the derogatory remarks against Ms Ranaut and pointed out that she had deleted the “inappropriate posts” that were made from her handle without her knowledge, the BJP has not slackened the heat turned on the Congress on the issue and demanded the party former president Sonia Gandhi and the general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to made their stand clear on Ms Shrinate’s remarks.

The controversy sparked off from a post accompanying a photo of Ms Ranaut, contesting the elections on a BJP ticket from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, from the Instagram handle of Ms Shrinate. The ‘Queen’ actor took to social media to respond to Ms Shrinate’s remarks, pointing out that she has played different women roles, “from a prostitute in Rajjo to a revolutionary leader in Thalaivii.”

“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 said.

Ms Ranaut also shared the screenshot of a conversation in which a Gujarat Congress leader is seen making a vile remark on her electoral debut. “If a young man gets ticket his ideology is attacked, if a young woman gets ticket her sexuality is attacked. Strange!! Also congress people are sexualising a small town’s name. Mandi is being used in sexual context everywhere, just because it has a young woman candidate, shame on Congress people for displaying sexist tendencies,” she said.

Her attack on Ms Shrinate came even after the Congress spokesperson in her video clarification said, “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,” she said.

She blamed a parody account being run with her name which made the “objectionable post.” “Someone copied it from there and posted it on my Instagram and Facebook accounts. I am trying to know who has done this from those who have access. I have also reported this parody account to Twitter,” added Ms Shrinate.

But the clarification did little to extinguish the fire with Union Minister Smriti Irani leading the BJP attack on the Congress. “This initiation into politics by fire @KanganaTeam is not a reflection on who you are but on what they have done & are capable of continuing to do for they can’t fathom how to deal with women of steel. March onto victory. Vijayi Bhav,” said Ms Irani, sharing Ms Ranaut’s post.

The NCW has shot off a letter to the Election Commission of India demanding immediate and strict action against them. “National Commission for Women is appalled by the disgraceful conduct of Ms Supriya Shrinate and Mr H.S. Ahir, who made lewd and derogatory remarks about @KanganaTeam on social media. Such behaviour is intolerable and goes against the dignity of women,” said the women’s body.

With her clarification failing to convince the BJP about her innocence on the Ranaut issue, Ms Shrinate on Tuesday launched a counter offensive pointing at the derogatory remarks against the “only woman chief minister in the country,” Ms Banerjee by the BJP former West Bengal chief Dillip Ghosh, currently a BJP MP from Medinipur, In the 2024 election ticket, Mr Ghosh has been denied the party ticket from Medinipur and has been asked to contest from Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency against the TMC nominee for the seat Kirti Azad, the former cricketer and BJP leader.

Ms Shrinate questioned if the BJP would speak out on its MP Dillip Ghosh’s offensive remarks against Ms Banerjee. “Dillip Ghosh is BJP’s former Bengal chief and its Medinipur MP. He is frustrated after he was sidelined and fielded from (Bardhaman) Durgapur against (Trinamool’s) Kirti Azad. In an offensive remark, he has asked ‘who is Mamata Banerjee’s father’,” Supriya Shrinate posted on X, asking whether the BJP would react. Ms Shrinate also asked if the BJP will remain silent on the wrestlers’ allegations of sexual harassment against its MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

On the campaign trail, Mr Ghosh has sparked a massive row with his remark on Ms Banerjee. “Didi goes to Goa and says, ‘I am Goa’s daughter’, then goes to Tripura and says, ‘I am Tripura’s daughter’. Decide who your father is. It is not good to be just anybody’s daughter,” he is heard saying in a video that has now gone viral. The remarks have drawn a sharp response from the Trinamool Congress, which has said Mr Ghosh is “venting his frustration” after he was “ousted” from the Medinipur constituency that he currently represents and fielded from another seat.

Trinamool leader Sushmita Dev referred to the row over derogatory remarks Ms Ranaut. “The BJP is making big speeches (on the Kangana Ranaut issue), but its leaders’ remarks for the country’s only woman Chief Minister are against our political traditions. I want to ask the National Commission for Women chief, you are so worried about the BJP’s candidate, but you are silent when BJP insults Mamata Banerjee. You should be ashamed,” she said.

The TMC also filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India against Mr Ghosh’s remarks. Citing the clause under the poll code, which states that “no political party or candidate should indulge in any activities or make any statements that would amount to an attack on the personal life of any person or statements that may be malicious or offend decency and morality”, the ruling Bengal party urged the Election Commission to immediately take action against Mr Ghosh.

But the BJP has not let off the offensive against the Congress and the slanging match continued on Tuesday as Ms Shrinate’s clarification cut little ice. Ms Ranaut is expected to reach Delhi on Wednesday evening to meet BJP president J.P. Nadda. BJP leader Shazia Illmi exhorted Ms Gandhi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to suspend Ms Shrinate for her derogatory post. BJP leader Shaina NC has said that it is time to fight stereotypes. She asked, “Why can’t a woman who comes from the film fraternity or the fashion fraternity or any other profession join active public life.” BJP’s senior leader and former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said the party was mulling legal action against Ms Shrinate.

The Congress is yet to officially respond on a rather difficult position that it finds itself in. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday called Ms 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 told reporters in Shimla. Ms Shrinate’s colleague Pawan Khera strongly defended her. In a post on X he said, “Anybody who has known my colleague Supriya Shrinate will vouch for the fact that she can never resort to such objectionable language ever.”