BJP's Giriraj Singh sparks controversy with 'thumka' remark on Mamata Banerjee; Trinamool calls "archaic mindset"

New Delhi [India], December 6 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh has erupted a controversy with his remark against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the latter shaking a leg with celebrities during the Kolkata International Film Festival, terming it "inappropriate".
At the event, Mamata Banerjee joined Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Mahesh Bhatt, Anil Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, and others to dance on the stage.
Giriraj Singh reacted to the video, which has gone viral and said, "Jashn mana rahi hai, thumke laga rahi hai, yeh uchit nahi hai. (She is celebrating and dancing; this is inappropriate.)".
To this, the Trinamool Congress leader Shashi Panja lashed out at Union Singh, with state minister Shashi Panja condemning the minister's remark.
Panja while speaking to ANI, said that even if Giriraj Singh apologised at this point, "it would be too less."
"We are full of anger...we would ask BJP who gave you the right to disrespect a woman? Giriraj Singh is a Union Minister holding a position of responsibility...the way he said such inappropriate thing, even if he apologizes, it's too less," she said.
TMC leader Mahua Moitra also slammed the remarks and said, "It is not your place to tell us what is 'uchit' and what is not. Mamata Banerjee is 'Maa Kali personified'. She is the only lady CM in India, and the people of Bengal have elected her not once, not twice, but thrice".
The party took to X and accused the BJP of having an "archaic mindset".
"It's evident that the BJP leaders find it incredibly hard to fathom a woman in power challenging their authority. Their archaic mindset, steeped in gender biases, is blatantly on display," AITC shared on X.
However, Singh denied the allegations by the TMC and said that the party is trying to raise this issue to create confusion among people.
"You can see my tweet, I have said that Mamata Didi, the state that is suffering from corruption and where the rights of the poor are being snatched, you're making 'Jashn' there. Is saying 'Jashn' similar to 'thumka'. The people of TMC are trying to raise this issue to create confusion in people. This is my right to say that there's poverty, unemployment and corruption and the CM was present in the Film festival," he told ANI.