Shiv Sena candidate from Mumbai’s Mumbadevi assembly constituency Shaina NC on Saturday demanded to know the official stand of Shiv Sena (UBT) on women’s respect, referring to its MP Arvind Sawant’s alleged derogatory remarks against her.
“Under pressure, Arvind Sawant apologised after 30 hours, while (his party colleague) Sanjay Raut justifies me being dismissed as an ‘imported maal’,” Shaina told a press conference.
Shaina, formerly with the BJP, claimed that her rival candidate from Congress Amin Patel laughed when Sawant made the objectionable comment.
Also Read: Arvind Sawant ‘sorry’ for ‘imported’ comment on Shaina NC, but Sanjay Raut defends: ‘It’s a fact’
“Would he react the same way if the remark was directed at a woman from his religion or community,” she asked. Sena (UBT) should spell out its stand on women’s respect, she said.
Also Read: Uddhav faction MP stokes row with sexist jibe at Shaina NC, she hits back
Sawant on Saturday apologised for his alleged insulting remark targeted at Shaina, a day after a case was registered against him in this connection.
Shaina said she was a ‘ladki bahin’ (dear sister) to Sawant when he contested the Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat in 2014, much before the division in the Bal Thackeray-founded Shiv Sena.
“I campaigned for him extensively in south Mumbai and Mumbadevi and now I am called an ‘imported maal’. I am a resident of south Mumbai and Mumbadevi is my mother’s home,” she said.
“If an apology has to be given, it should be to goddess Mumbadevi. I am her daughter…I will fight and win,” she said.
Shaina also questioned the silence of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders, including Supriya Sule of NCP (SP) and Priyanka Chaturvedi of Sena (UBT). “The cause of women is bigger than party politics. I have always stood by women irrespective of party politics,” she said.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Congress are partners of the Uddhav Thackeray-headed Sena (UBT) in the opposition bloc MVA.
“(Congress leader) Priyanka Gandhi says ‘Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon (I am a girl and I can fight)’. Why are the opposition leaders quiet now? Why are Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Nana Patole (of Congress) not reacting,” she asked.
Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut defended Sawant and said he only stated that she is an “outside maal” and she has come to Mumbai from outside.
“If she is an ‘imported maal’, then where is the question of insulting women? What did you say about Sonia Gandhi ji, Priyanka Gandhi ji… if you see the statements (of the BJP) in the last 10-15 years,” Raut said.
There was no need to make an issue out of it, said the Rajya Sabha member.
“If Sanjay Raut claims that Sawant didn’t say anything wrong, what is the official stand of Sena (UBT) and MVA on women’s respect,” Shaina asked.
“‘Maal’ is objectification. It means you are the property of someone,” she said, adding that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, has empowered women through the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme.
In Mumbadevi, there are 40,000 beneficiaries of whom 15,000 are Muslims, she said.
The Sena candidate said the discourse should be on issues in an election. “What has happened to Kamathipura redevelopment, redevelopment of chawls and cluster redevelopment (in Mumbadevi),” she asked.
She also wondered if Sena (UBT) leader and former state minister Aaditya Thackeray, who lives in Bandra and contests from Worli, is not an outsider.
Meanwhile, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said in Baramati in Pune district that he didn’t think there was any personal attack, referring to the controversy. “However, one should take care while talking,” he advised.
Outside Maharashtra, MP Misa Bharti of RJD, Sena (UBT)’s partner in the opposition INDIA bloc, voiced her disapproval of Sawant’s alleged derogatory remarks against Shaina.
“Political differences aside, no offensive remarks should be made about a woman, even if she happens to be a rival,” said the eldest daughter of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad.
Assembly elections for the 288-member House will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.