Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jitu Patwari. (Twitter/@jitupatwari)
Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jitu Patwari landed in a spot Wednesday after his tweet, comparing schemes of the BJP-led central government to the birth of five “daughters” in a bid to get a “son”, triggered an outrage.
In a tweet, Patwari had said, “Putra ke chakkar me 5 putriyan paida ho gai! 1- notebandi, 2-GST, 3-Mahangai, 4-Berojgari, 5-Mandi, Parantu Vikas Abhi Tak Paida Nahi hua (Five daughters were born in an attempt to beget a son- 1-demonetisation 2-GST 3-inflation 4- unemployment 5-recession. But development was not born yet).” However, after a lot of criticism, he later took down his tweet.
People like him are the reason why girl child is still a non acceptence
Shame on jitu patwari pic.twitter.com/nE1lvgl7D9
— Nikita Agarwal (@SweetKristy__) June 24, 2020
Accusing Patwari of misogyny, the BJP asked the Congress to expel him from the party. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also reacted strongly to Patwari’s tweet. “On one hand the entire nation is remembering the sacrifice of Rani Durgavati, while on the other hand the Congress is humiliating India’s daughters. Has this perverted mindset of the Congress sacrificed many daughters like Naina Sahni, Sarla Mishra, Priti Mishra? Damn on this nastiest ideology of Congress,” Chouhan tweeted.
In a tweet addressed to National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma, BJP’s national spokesman Sambit Patra said, “Please take note of this highly misogynistic tweet of an elected representative which projects daughters as unwanted & in most regressive manner.”
In reply, Sharma assured swift action in the matter. “This should not go unpunished!” she tweeted.
“Sad that these people with this kind of mindset are calling themselves leaders. What are they teaching to their followers I wonder. Will ask for an explanation from him for sure,” Sharma added.
Sad that these people with this kind of mind set are calling themselves leaders. What are they teaching to their followers I wonder. Will ask for an explanation from him for sure. @sambitswaraj https://t.co/ETanvE65I5
— Rekha Sharma (@sharmarekha) June 24, 2020
Patwari stood his ground in the beginning but aplogised late in the night in the face of relentless criticism. “As far as daughters are concerned, they are like Goddess. With the expectation of development, I have made a tweet which BJP is using to hide its weaknesses. I am still saying that the entire country is waiting for development,” he tweeted.
जहां तक बात बेटियों की है तो वो देवीतुल्य हैं।
विकास की अपेक्षा के साथ मैंने एक ट्वीट किया है जिसे बीजेपी अपनी कमज़ोरियों को छिपाने के लिये उपयोग कर रही है।
मैं अब भी कह रहा हूँ कि “विकास” का पूरे देश को इंतजार है।
— Jitu Patwari (@jitupatwari) June 24, 2020
मोदी जी ने नोटबंदी, जीएसटी, महंगाई, बेरोज़गारी और मंदी से देश की अर्थव्यवस्था की कमर तोड़ दी..!
—जनता यह सब केवल “विकास” की उम्मीद में सहन करती रही।
उपरोक्त आशय के साथ किये गये मेरे ट्वीट से यदि किसी की भावनायें आहत हुई हैं तो मैं खेद व्यक्त करता हूँ।
— Jitu Patwari (@jitupatwari) June 24, 2020
In another tweet, Patwari said, “Modi ji broke the back of the country’s economy by demonetisation, GST, inflation, unemployment, and recession. The public endured all this only in the hope of development. I regret if my tweet, with above-mentioned intentions, hurt the sentiments of anybody.”
Meanwhile, the NCW on Thursday took a suo moto cognisance of Patwari’s remark and sought an explanation from him at the earliest.
(With inputs from ENS)