The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Monday wrote to Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking action against Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate and party leader HS Ahir for their alleged derogatory social media posts against actor Kangana Ranaut, the commission said on Tuesday.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the NCW said that it was deeply concerned by the recent incident involving Shrinate and Ahir, State Joint Coordinator, Kisan Congress, who made derogatory remarks on social media directed at Kangana Ranaut.
“The NCW condemns in the strongest terms the offensive and disrespectful nature of the comments made by Ms. Shrinate and Mr. Ahir. Such remarks not only violate the dignity of an individual but also perpetuate a culture of misogyny and disrespect towards women. The chairperson NCW Smt Rekha Sharma has written a letter to the Election Commissioner of India to take immediate and strict action against both individuals involved in this incident. The NCW demands that a detailed report on the actions taken be communicated to the Commission within three days,” the commission said in a statement.
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It further said that in the digital age where social media platforms have immense reach and influence, it is imperative that individuals exercise responsibility and respect towards others, particularly towards women, to foster a safe and respectful online environment.
“The NCW remains committed to upholding the rights and dignity of women and will continue to take decisive action against any form of harassment or derogatory behavior,” the statement read.
The row erupted on Monday after a post was made from the Instagram handle of Shrinate, who manages social media for the Congress party.
The now deleted post allegedly targeted Ranaut over her candidature for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Reacting to the allegations, Shrinate claimed that “many people” have access to her Facebook and Instagram accounts, and someone from there made the “extremely inappropriate” post, which has since been deleted.
Ahir also put forth a similar explanation.
While the BJP has demanded that the Congress take action in the matter, there is no response yet from the Congress.
The copy will be updated whenever a response from Congress is received.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said that it was unfortunate that a woman is using such derogatory language against another woman.
“NCW has taken it very seriously. We have written to the Election Commission to take stringent action against the party and the leader. Not only one leader but two leaders are saying the same thing on Twitter and later denying that they have made such a post. They owe an apology to Kangana,” she said while addressing media persons.
