BENGALURU/DAVANGERE: Badminton star
Saina Nehwal
Saturday served a rasping riposte to jibes by
Shamanur Shivashankarappa
, a nonagenarian Karnataka
Congress MLA
, that BJP's woman candidate from Davangere LS seat was "fit to cook at home". Nehwal said the remarks against
Gayathri Siddeshwar
were "sexist".
"Women should be restricted to the kitchen - this is what a top Karnataka leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa ji has said.
The sexist jibe at @bjp4india candidate from Davanagere, Gayathri Siddeshwar ji, is least expected from a party that says 'Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon'," Nehwal, now with BJP, said.
Davangere South MLA Shivashankarappa (92) made the remarks while addressing Congress workers on March 26, a video of which went viral on Friday. "She does not even know how to speak properly...," Shivashankarappa had said referring to Gayathri as he took the "cooking" swipe.
Nehwal, 34, felt such misogynistic remarks were upsetting when women in the country were aspiring to leave their mark in every field. "When I won medals for Bharat on the play field, what would the Congress party have preferred I should have done instead? Why say such things when all girls and women dream of achieving big in any field," she said.
"On one hand we are doing 'Nari Shakti ka Vandana'. The Women's Reservation Bill has been passed under the leadership of our PM Modi sir, while on the other, 'Nari Shakti ka apman' & misogynistic people ... really upsetting," Nehwal posted further.
BJP has lodged a complaint with EC against Shivashankarappa. Gayathri expressed anguish, saying it seemed "Ajja (elderly person)" wasn't aware that women were making their mark in every field.
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