Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party Shehzad Poonawalla and Amit Malviya criticized Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on Monday, March 25 over an allegedly offensive comment about actor Kangana Ranaut that was posted from Shrinate’s account, though she denied making it. The BJP members have demanded that Shrinate should be immediately fired from the Congress party.
Ranaut, a BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, also condemned Shrinate, saying that she has played diverse female roles in her acting career and that every woman deserves dignity. In a social media post, Ranaut noted that she has portrayed “a naive girl in Queen to a seductive spy in Dhaakad, from a goddess in Manikarnika to a demon in Chandramukhi, from a prostitute in Rajjo to a revolutionary leader in Thalaivii.”
Ranaut added that “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.”
Malviya, who heads the BJP’s IT department, said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge should take stern action against Shrinate. In a social media post, Malviya said “Congress’s Supriya Shrinate makes an obnoxious comment on Kangana Ranaut in an Insta post. It is so disgusting that one can’t help, but ask – how does Congress collect so much filth in one place? If Kharge has any say in the party, he must sack her immediately or else resign.”
Poonawalla also termed Shrinate’s alleged comments as “despicable” and demanded her immediate sacking. He questioned whether Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Kharge would act against Shrinate. Poonawalla later said Shrinate made a “disgusting comment and poster on Kangana Ranut who has been given a Lok Sabha ticket from Mand.” He accused Congress of abusing various forms of “Shakti” (power) including sanatana, desh, sanya, yuva and nari shaktis.
Amid the controversy, Shrinate clarified in a social media post that she would never make such a comment about a woman. She claimed someone else had accessed her social media accounts and posted the offensive content. Shrinate added that a parody account on Twitter had misused her name to spread mischief. After being named as a BJP candidate, Kangana Ranaut thanked the party leadership for giving her the opportunity to contest the election.
