Congress leader Supriya Shrinate courted controversy on Monday after an alleged objectionable post on actor Kangana Ranaut appeared on her social media account. The post, which has now been deleted, sparked off a political storm, with the BJP demanding immediate action against Shrinate.
Ranaut, who has been fielded by the BJP from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, also hit out at the Congress leader, saying every woman deserves dignity.
"Dear Supriya ji In the last 20 years of my career as an artist, I have played all kinds of women. From 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," she said in a post on X.
"We must free our daughters from the shackles of prejudice; 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," the actor further said.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) also stepped in, saying it will write to the Election Commission over the issue.
"You are a fighter and a shining star @KanganaTeam. People who are insecure acts low. Keep shining and all the best. @TajinderBagga writing to @ECISVEEP," NCW chief Rekha Sharma said in a post on X.
As the controversy raged, Shrinate clarified that she could never make such personal and indecent comments about any woman.
"Many people have access to my Facebook and Instagram accounts. Someone from them made an extremely inappropriate post today. As soon as I came to know, I deleted that post. Everyone who knows me also knows very well that I can never make personal and indecent comments towards any woman. I wanted to know how this happened," she said.
Shrinate also claimed that some parody accounts on social media have made this "objectionable post" and that she has reported the same on X.
"I came to know that my name is being misused on Twitter and a parody account is being operated, named Supriya parody. They made this objectionable post. Someone copied it from there and posted it on my Instagram and Facebook accounts. I am trying to know who has done this among those who have access. I have also reported this parody," she said.
Earlier, the BJP urged Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to take stern action against Shrinate for the post on Ranaut.
"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," Amit Malviya, who is in-charge of BJP's national information and technology department, said.
Another BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla said that the comments allegedly made by Shrinate about Ranaut were despicable.
"From Sanatana Shakti to Desh Shakti to Sanya Shakti to Yuva to Nari Shakti, abusing all of them just because they are not able to counter the BJP," he said.