'Can housewives be lent?': Mamata Banerjee faces flak for sexist remark
On July 7, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had said, "Don’t lend knowledge, intellect and housewife to anyone. If given, no refund is available."
FollowIn what has sparked another controversy between the BJP and Mamata Banerjee, the saffron party's national convener of its IT cell, Amit Malviya, on Saturday questioned the West Bengal CM's recent sexist remarks even as the storm over TMC MP Mahua Moitra's comments on Goddess Kaali rages on.
On July 7, during a function at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata, the TMC supremo said, "Vidya, boi aar ghorer bou kauke dhaar ditey nei", which roughly translates to "Don't lend knowledge, intellect and housewife to anyone. If given, no refund is available".
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Irked by Mamata Banerjee's remarks, BJP's Amit Malviya slammed the West Bengal CM and questioned her 'mindset'.
"Are housewives immovable property? Can they be lent?" asked Malviya in a tweet posted along with the video of Mamata Banerjee making the objectionable remarks.
"Such statements undermine the dignity of women. This mindset of CM is responsible for crime against women," the national convener of the BJP IT cell added.
This is not the first time Mamata Banerjee has faced flak for her sexist and insensitive remarks. Interestingly, reports claim the TMC supremo had repeated this very Bengali proverb a decade ago at a Kolkata Book Fair, which had sparked a massive furore back then.
Earlier this year, Banerjee also made controversial statements about the Hanshkali rape case. "This story they are showing that a minor has died due to rape, Will you call it rape? Was she pregnant or had a love affair? Have they enquired? I have asked the police. They have made arrests. I was told the girl had an affair with the boy," the West Bengal CM had stated.
In 2012, she was also slammed for her remarks on the Park Street rape case, where five men inside a moving car gang-raped a woman in the wee hours of February 5. The victim had filed a police complaint on February 9, and a medical examination on February 14 confirmed rape. However, Mamata Banerjee dismissed the crime as a "fabricated incident" (shajano ghotona), aimed at tarnishing her government.
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