 "Hema Malini")
Responding to the controversy surrounding Congress leader Randeep Surjewala's remarks about Mathura Member of Parliament Hema Malini, the actor-politician stated that Opposition leaders must learn to respect women from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking to reporters, Hema Malini said that the Opposition tends to target only "popular people", as targeting the unpopular ones would not benefit them. "They target only popular people because targeting the unpopular ones won't do them any good. They should learn how to respect women from Prime Minister Narendra Modi," she said.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came down heavily on the Congress over Surjewala's remarks.
BJP leader Amit Malviya yesterday shared a video in which Mr Surjewala is seen addressing a public gathering. While saying that people elect leaders to raise their issues, he makes a remark on Malini. In his post on X (formerly Twitter), Malviya said it is the "most disgusting description someone can come up with".
"This is Rahul Gandhi's Congress. It is misogynistic and abhors women," the BJP leader added.
Under fire, Surjewala accused the BJP's IT cell of distorting facts and spreading lies. He shared another video from the event, where he expressed, "We respect Hema Malini ji because she is married to Dharmendra ji, she is our bahu."
Alleging the BJP of misrepresenting facts and spreading misinformation, he stated that the ruling party aims to divert attention from the Narendra Modi government's "anti-youth, anti-farmer, anti-poor policies, and its conspiracy to undermine the Constitution".
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"These pawns of the BJP never asked the prime minister why he said '50 crore ki girlfriend', called a woman Member of Parliament 'Surpanakha', trolled a woman chief minister, used the expression 'Congress's widow' and described the Congress leadership as a 'jersey cow'," he added.
Surjewala clarified that his intention was to emphasise the accountability of all elected representatives to the people.
"My intention was not to insult Hema Malini ji or to hurt anybody. That's why I clearly said we respect Hema Malini ji and she is our bahu. The BJP is anti-women, so it sees everything from its misogyny-tinted glasses and conveniently spreads lies," he said in the post.
