Actor-turned-TMC MLA Chiranjit Chakraborty on Friday courted controversy by suggesting that women should be conscious of their surroundings while dressing. Chakraborty’s remark, which he claimed was not a diktat but a “suggestion”, nevertheless, triggered an angry reaction from the BJP which called it “uncalled for” and maintained that women have the right to choose what to wear. His remarks also come in the aftermath of Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat who recently faced flak for saying that women who wear ripped jeans set a bad example. Speaking at an anti-substance abuse workshop organised by the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in Dehradun on Tuesday, Rawat said that ripped jeans are ‘bad examples’ set by parents.
Chakraborty made the remark while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a party meeting in Barasat constituency in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, where he is seeking re- election.
“I am not issuing any dress code, but only offering my suggestion as you (reporters) have asked. One (a woman) should wear a dress keeping in mind the occasion,” Chakraborty said, when asked whether he stood by his remark made in 2012 on women’s dressing.
“A woman should wear different outfits for a funeral and a discotheque. What she should wear while travelling on a crowded train may differ from her attire at a party. Everyone knows that, everyone is aware of that,” he said.
The sitting MLA claimed women feel safe and secure in his constituency.
Chakraborty, while visiting Barasat police station in 2012 to enquire about the progress of an eve-teasing case, had triggered a controversy by saying that women should be conscious of what they wear as all dresses are not appropriate for everywhere and sometimes can look provocative.
He had said that fashion is always evolving but its application has to change keeping time and place in mind to make it more meaningful.
However, he had later claimed that the media had distorted his comments and taken them out of context and asserted that he never believed in imposing a diktat on women.
Nevertheless, his fresh remark too drew flak from the BJP.
“Chakraborty’s comments are uncalled for and an affront on a woman’s freedom of choosing her attire. Every woman knows what to wear in what circumstances,” BJP leader Locket Chatterjee, who was also an actor, said.
Chakraborty’s comments too are going viral especially afer Rawat’s remarks. Hitting out at the sartorial choices of women, Rawat recalled an incident where he had come across a woman ‘in ripped jeans’ who ran an NGO and expressed his concern about the kind of ‘message’ she is putting out to the world.
“If this kind of woman goes out in the society to meet people and solve their problems, what kind of message are we giving out to society, to our kids? It all starts at home. What we do, our kids follow. A child who is taught the right culture at home, no matter how modern he becomes, will never fail in life,” said the Chief Minister.
This is not the first time Chakraborty blamed women’s attire choices. In 2012, he had blamed short skirts for a spike in sexual harassment cases. He said that women are to blame to a certain extent for such cases. According to him, women wear such clothes for men’s entertainment and to earn their appreciation, as per a 2012 report by The Indian Express.
(With PTI inputs)