Never insulted actor; BJP spreading lies: Surjewala responds to Hema Malini row
Accused by BJP of passing sexist remarks against the actor, Surjewala shared the full video of his speech and said the saffron party was twisting his words to spread fake news
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala, who has been slammed by the BJP for allegedly passing ‘sexist’ remarks at its MP Hema Malini, has retorted by accusing the ruling party of spreading fake news to divert the public’s attention towards real issues.
“BJP's IT Cell has developed a habit of editing, distorting and spreading fake news so that it can distract the country from the Modi government's anti-youth, anti-farmer, anti-poor policies and failures and its conspiracy to destroy the Constitution of India,” Surjewala said in a post on X.
‘Vile, sexist remark’
His post came after BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya shared an undated video on X in which the Congress MP is purportedly seen making some objectionable remarks about Malini while attacking the ruling party.
“Congress MP Randeep Surjewala makes a vile sexist comment, that is demeaning and derogatory, not just for Hema Malini, who is an accomplished individual, but women in general,” Malviya said.
“This is Rahul Gandhi's Congress. It is misogynistic and abhors women," he said.
Malviya also referred to controversy where offensive posts were made against actor and BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut from Congress leader Supriya Shrinate’s social media handle.
‘What about PM’s misogyny?’ Surjewala asks
Sharing the full video of his speech, Surjewala said he never insulted the actor, but rather called her “our daughter-in-law” as she is married to actor Dharmendra.
Accusing the BJP of twisting his words by making only parts of the video viral, he asked the party why it wasn’t questioning the alleged misogynistic remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Why was it said ‘Girlfriend worth ₹50 crores’ in Himachal? Why was a woman MP called ‘Shurpanakha’ in the Parliament? Why was a woman CM trolled in such a vulgar manner? Is it correct to say ‘Congress's widow’? Is it right to call the top leadership of the Congress a ‘Jersey cow’?” he said in the post.
Clarifying further on his statement, he said he meant that in public life everyone should be accountable, be it him, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini or BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar.
“Everyone rises or falls on the basis of their work; the public is supreme and they have to use their discretion in making their choice. Neither did I intend to insult Hema Malini ji nor to hurt anyone. That is why I clearly said that we respect Hema Malini ji and she is our daughter-in-law,” he said.
“BJP itself is anti-women, that is why it sees and understands everything through an anti-women lens and spreads lies as per its convenience!” the Congress leader added.
Malini is the BJP Lok Sabha member from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and is contesting the 2024 general elections from there. She is yet to respond to the row.
