Politics is not for women. It is a space majorly dominated by men. It is aptly said that political space is a man’s world. And when a woman titled towards the Left intelligentsia and makes her foray into politics despite all the pulling down, the cabal hails her for breaking the glass ceiling.
Tell me what happens when a woman from the other side of the spectrum steps into politics. Well, who can forget Jaya Prada’s humiliation. For the unversed, Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam and Digvijay Singh had objectionally referred to union minister Smriti Irani and Meenakshi Natarajan respectively. Women in politics face rampant sexism and this increases when the females do not belong to the left intelligentsia. The same is the case with honorable president Droupadi Murmu.
Droupadi Murmu was elected recently to the highest office of the country. She has many accolades to her name. Murmu is the first person from the state of Odisha to hold the chair and is the first tribal and second woman to hold the esteemed office. Her election was celebrated as it was expected that hailing from the Santhal tribe, Murmu will be a living embodiment of the upliftment of the tribal community. However, being Murmu is not easy as you have to endure a lot of hate on a daily basis. The newest entrant in the club is a TMC neta.
TMC neta’s objectionable comment on President Murmu
A video has gone viral that has once again unveiled the real face of the Trinamool Congress. TMC’s Minister for Correctional Administration, Akhil Giri, while addressing people in Nandigram on Thursday was seen making objectionable comments on President Murmu and her looks. In the video, Giri can be heard saying, “He (Suvendu Adhikari) said that I am not good-looking. How beautiful is he? We don’t judge anyone by their appearance. We respect the office of the President (of India). But how does our President look?”
#WATCH | "We don't judge anyone by their appearance, we respect the office of the President (of India). But how does our President look?," says West Bengal Minister and TMC leader Akhil Giri in Nandigram (11.11.2022) pic.twitter.com/UcGKbGqc7p
— ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2022
He is standing encircled by a crowd. He addresses the crowd saying he respects his President, as if the President of India belongs from a particular political party. Giri has done the unforgivable, he not only drew affiliation of the highest office of the nation from a political party, he also mocked the President’s looks.
Here I have two questions. Would the TMC minister have made similar remarks if the President was a male? Or is it easier to talk about how a woman looks, no matter if she is sitting on the highest chair of the nation? The second question. Will we any day be modern enough that we judge a person irrespective of their gender/caste/origin and just as per their work and acumen?
Mamata Banerjee distances herself
There is widespread outrage regarding TMC’s minister and people are demanding his sacking from Mamata Banerjee. The Bharatiya Janata Party too has launched an offensive against the TMC minister and demanded his arrest. To save the government that is already under heat due to rampant violence in the state, the TMC Minister has offered an apology. He said that he respects both the India constitution as well as the President of the country. He said, “I apologize for my statements and would like to reiterate that I have immense respect for President Droupadi Murmu.”
The @AITCofficial Min. Sh. Akhil Giri, unconditionally APOLOGISES for his insensitive comment on the @rashtrapatibhvn Smt. Droupadi Murmu, & expresses his deepest RESPECT for the Chair of the President. pic.twitter.com/BFUsr0P2x2
— 𝐑𝐢𝐣𝐮 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐚 (@DrRijuDutta_TMC) November 12, 2022
TMC and its politics
You may think that he said something objectionable and has apologized for the same, so now the matter must be let go. But before progressing, look at the timing of his apology. He only offered an apology after he and his party started facing heavy criticism due to his remarks.
ऐसे मंत्री को ममता बनर्जी को अपने मंत्रिमंडल से तुरंत बर्खास्त करना चाहिए।
और इस तरह के बयानों के लिए देश से माफी मांगनी चाहिए।
– श्री @MundaArjun pic.twitter.com/gN67fQpXk4
— BJP (@BJP4India) November 12, 2022
It was evident from the remark how TMC is anti-women and anti-tribal and hence the party distanced itself from the controversy as it is trying to woo tribal votes. This is not a one time incident. TMC and its leaders have no respect for constitutional posts, which was evident from Mamata Banerjee and Jagdeep Dhankar episode that ran for a long time. Further, how can one forget the way Mamata Banerjee changed her stance during Presidential elections. She had to support Murmu’s candidature just to woo the tribal votes that had sided with the BJP earlier.
This is not the first time that President Murmu has been targeted, and hence we the people of India needs to be aware of TMC and the politics of its kind.
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