Parliament not immune to casting couch, says Renuka Chowdhury

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury on Tuesday backed Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan’s casting couch comments saying it  is the “bitter truth” of not just the film industry but all workplaces and even Parliament is not immune to it.

“It’s the bitter truth. It is not just in the film industry. This happens everywhere in work spaces. Don’t imagine that Parliament is immune or some other work space is immune. If you look at the western world today, established top actresses took so long to come out and say ‘me too’. It’s time India stood up and said ‘me too’,” the former Rajya Sabha member said.

The #MeToo campaign, which calls out sexual offenders, began in Hollywood late last year and triggered a global movement against sexual abuse.

Saroj had justified the exchange of sexual favours for work in the film industry, saying it is not a new phenomenon and the film industry “at least” provided jobs and did not abandon women after raping them.

She also put the onus on women and said everyone, including people in the Government, indulged in it.

When questioned about the incorrect use of the term “casting couch”, she said. “It is a terminology you are using, and it is not just narrowed down to one sphere,” she said.

Chowdhury said if people are discussing that people in the entertainment industry are being taken advantage of, then so are women in politics.

Chowdhury admitted that her comments on casting couch in Parliament were not inaccurate as the legislature shows the direction of the society but stated that when a politician denigrates a woman, it is a problem.

“When they are making derogatory comments, they are denigrating my status as a woman...When Rijiju (Mos Home Kiren Rijju) uploads offensive videos, it is an issue,” she said. Chowdhury was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dig at the Congress MP, saying her laughter reminded him of epic serial ‘Ramayana’.

Rijiju had tweeted a video of Modi’s jibe against her. The video implied Chowdhury’s laugh resembled that of mythological character ‘Surpanakha’ from Ramayana.