Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate’s derogatory social media post on actor and BJP LS candidate from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut has sent shockwaves through the political landscape. Shrinate has tried to place the blame on some ‘unknown’ member of her media team, but she cannot shrug off the responsibility for what’s on her Instagram account. It is particularly unacceptable that a woman, who must have herself experienced the difficulties of being in the public gaze, should thus target another.
The BJP has already gone to town on the issue and stated that the people of Himachal Pradesh and Mandi constituency would respond appropriately to this insult. In fact, Ranaut is also popular among large sections of society outside of her home state. Over the years, she has used her celebrity to advance numerous women’s causes based on her own struggle to rise from unexceptional beginnings to becoming the winner of multiple awards in her chosen profession. Over the years, she has stuck to her guns regarding her ‘nationalist’ politics, despite severe trolling from the leftist eco-system. It was probably this habitual denigration of her that inspired the latest assault on her character on Shrinate’s account.
Unfortunately, while Shrinate has expressed regret and deleted her post, there are still some Congress leaders who are trying to somehow justify what has happened. An eminent women writer and journalist from the party has also echoed the sentiments from this notorious post. Can this sense of entitlement justify such a mindset? It is time for leaders of political parties, including the BJP, to reassess the standards of debate so that the unconscious bias against women becomes unacceptable. Perhaps, a beginning could be made with the Congress taking appropriate action against Shrinate. It would send the message that winning elections is not more important than maintaining the dignity of women.
The present controversy has gone national because of Ranaut’s celebrity status, otherwise denigration of women is quite common in grassroots level politics. An example of that was the comment against PM Modi’s mother by a DMK leader, which was welcomed with laughter by a senior woman leader of the party. It is indicative of what people expect from the DMK that it was accepted by most political commentators as par for the course! There is a line that people should not allow to be crossed and this should reflect when it is voting time.
