Amid controversies surrounding congress leader Supriya Srinate for her remarks and posts on social media about actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut, who is the contesting candidate of the BJP from Mandi Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has taken steps to supplant Supriya Srinate’s candidature from her contesting constituency.
In the wake of these events, Congress has chosen Virendra Chaudhary as the candidate who will replace Ms Srinate, who is under fire for her controversial social media posts. Ms. Srinate ran in the previous Lok Sabha elections from Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh but was defeated by BJP’s Pankaj Chaudhary.
The controversy sparked after a social media post from Ms. Supriya Shrinate’s account went public, wherein an offensive post with a derogatory caption underneath Kangna Ranaut’s picture was posted, this has caused a tremendous amount of political outrage.
In her statement, Ms. Supriya Srinate said, ‘Someone who had access to my meta accounts ( FB and Insta) posted a disgusting and objectionable post, which has been taken down. Anyone who knows me will know I would never say that to a woman. However, a parody account I have just discovered misusing my name is being run on Twitter ( @Supriyaparody ) which started the whole mischief, and is being reported,”.
मेरे फेसबुक और इंस्टा के अकाउंट पर कई लोगों का एक्सेस है. इसमें से किसी व्यक्ति ने आज एक बेहद घृणित और आपत्तिजनक पोस्ट किया था.
मुझे जैसे ही इसकी जानकारी हुई मैंने वह पोस्ट हटा दिया. जो भी मुझे जानते हैं, वह यह अच्छी तरह से जानते हैं कि मैं किसी भी महिला के लिए व्यक्तिगत भोंडी… pic.twitter.com/CFDNXuxmo2
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) March 25, 2024
Ranaut expressed that the post had caused her distress. Addressing the ANI News Agency the actress remarked, “Every woman deserves respect, irrespective of her profession… What particularly pains me is the reference to ‘Mandi’, which is revered as Chota Kashi and holds significance as the abode of numerous sages.”
Wednesday saw the Election Commission of India (ECI) issuing a show cause notice to the Congress leader for her comments regarding Ranaut. This notice followed a request from the National Commission for Women (NCW) to the electoral body, urging it to take decisive measures against Srinate.
Meanwhile, On Wednesday, the Congress unveiled its eighth list for the imminent Lok Sabha elections, revealing 14 candidates designated for four states: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Jharkhand. With this announcement, the party has now declared a total of 208 candidates for the polls.