By IANS,
New Delhi : Women parliamentarians and activists Thursday slammed Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s offensive remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati saying they were “inappropriate and uncalled for”.
Congress MP Mohsina Kidwai described Joshi’s remarks as “not appropriate”, when asked to comment on it.
Joshi was arrested past midnight Wednesday in Ghaziabad for her allegedly insulting remarks against Mayawati. Joshi was Thursday sent to judicial custody for 14 days in Moradabad. Her house in Lucknow was set afire allegedly by supporters of Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Samajwadi Party MP and Bollywood actor Jaya Prada, while choosing not to comment on Joshi’s remarks, said the law and order situation in the state had broken down.
“The law and order situation has completely collapsed in Uttar Pradesh. We are neither with the Congress nor with the BSP. We are with the people of the state,” she told IANS.
However, Bharatiya Janata Party women parliamentarians slammed Joshi’s remarks.
“There is a limit to such kind of statements. It can not be accepted. This shows that the level of politics is sinking lower and lower,” BJP MP Sumitra Mahajan told IANS.
Added BJP MP Saroj Pandey: “This statement is not good. The opposition should show some respect too,” she added.
Activist Ranjana Kumari said Joshi’s remarks were “uncalled for”, and added, “But in a democracy there is scope to forgive a person if he or she regrets his or her behaviour.”
“Joshi has apologised for her remarks. But Mayawati instead of keeping up the spirit of democracy, is creating a big furore over it. Mayawati has not been able to do much to safeguard women in her state,” she added.
Girija Vyas, chairperson of the National Commission for Women, however, refused to comment on the issue saying that she hasn’t seen the video of Joshi’s speech in which she allegedly insulted the chief minister.
Kiran Shoaib, an activist fighting for women’s rights, said: “Rita Joshi’s comments were absolutely uncalled for. How can a woman, who claims to be a product of the women’s movement, talk about another woman like that? It was in bad taste.”