New Delhi: Congress MP Randeep Surjewala has been summoned by Haryana’s women’s panel on April 9 for his remarks against Mathura MP Hema Malini. The National Commission of Women has also condemned his objectionable remarks.
The BJP on Thursday said Surjewala’s ‘ vile, sexist remarks’ against Hema Malini showed that the Congress was misogynistic and abhors women. Surjewala, however, said only selective parts of his speech were shared by the BJP IT cell, stressing that it had a habit of “distorting facts and spreading lies”.
Congress MP Randeep Surjewala makes a vile sexist comment, that is demeaning and derogatory, not just for Hema Malini, who is an accomplished individual, but women in general. He asks, “MLA/MP क्यों बनाते हैं? ताकि वो हमारी आवाज़ उठा सकें, हमारी बात मनवायें, इसीलिए बनाते होंगे।… pic.twitter.com/JO0UIXSOt1
— Amit Malviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@amitmalviya) April 3, 2024
Taking a jibe at the Congress in a post on X, BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut said that the party was talking about “opening a shop of love but it has opened a shop of hatred”.
“Congress leaders, who have degraded views towards women, are deteriorating their character day by day in frustration and despair of inevitable defeat,” Ranaut added.
Hitting out at Congress, BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that their only identity is to insult womanpower. “Narishakti’s ‘Apmaan’ is Congress’ only ‘Pahchaan’. This has been yet again established by the cruel, crude, obnoxious, disgusting, misogynistic and sexist statement by Randeep Surjewala…,” Poonawalla said.
Responding to the allegations, Surjewala told CNN-News18 that the saffron camp “selectively put out parts of his speech” from Kaithal on Wednesday.
The Congress MP also posted the full video on X and said, “Listen to the full video – I said, “We also respect Hema Malini a lot because she is married to Dharmendra ji and is our daughter-in-law.”
He added that he was focusing on the point that “everyone should be accountable to the people, be it Nayab Saini Ji, or Khattar Ji, or myself”.
“Neither did I intend to insult Hema Malini ji nor to hurt anyone. That is why I clearly said that we respect Hema Malini ji and she is our daughter-in-law,” Surjewala clarified in his X post.