The issue relates to a tweet posted by V Gopikrishnan, an Executive Member of Tamil Nadu BJP and in-charge of the north Chennai Parliamentary constituency.

news Controversy Saturday, January 30, 2021 - 09:54
TNM Staff

BJP leader and actor Khushboo on Friday condemned a fellow-party member for posting a derogatory tweet about DMK Member of Parliament (MP) Kanimozhi. In her tweet, Khushboo said that irrespective of political allegiance, disrespectful and derogatory comments against women must be condemned. The issue relates to a tweet posted by V Gopikrishnan, an Executive Member of Tamil Nadu BJP and in-charge of the north Chennai Parliamentary constituency, on Friday.

In his tweet, which was a response to a comment on permission to enter a temple’s sanctum sanctorum, he asked if the sanctum sanctorum was like Kanimozhi’s bedroom, to be open for anybody to enter. This comment was slammed across social media, with many pointing out the disrespectful and obscene nature of the remark. Several social media users also tagged senior BJP leaders like Vanathi Srinivasan and demanded action against Gopikrishnan. Following the social media outrage, Gopikrishnan locked his Twitter profile.

In response to several users tagging her on social media, Khushboo said that disrespectful and derogatory comments against women must be condemned, irrespective of their political party. “Irrespective of the party, or an individual, a degrading, disrespectful comment about a woman should be condemned. @KanimozhiDMK is a wife, a daughter, a woman and a parliamentarian elected by the people. She deserves respect and that should be given to her at every point,” she tweeted.

Despite the uproar against Gopikrishnan’s comments, it is unclear if Tamil Nadu BJP has taken any action against him for his obscene comments.

Khushboo was also appreciated by many users for her unflinching stance on the matter over the years. Khushboo, years ago, was at the receiving end of the ire of people and politicians from Tamil Nadu for her comments around pre-marital sex and virginity. She was speaking in the context of sexually transmitted diseases and how it is important to protect oneself when indulging in intercourse. As many as 21 cases were filed against her and the state witnessed widespread protests against the actor. She then approached the Supreme Court for relief from the cases. 

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