'Certainly', says Scindia on whether Sonia Gandhi should pull up Kamal Nath over 'item' jibe

By Pragya Kaushika
New Delhi [India], October 28 : In what could be termed as his first indirect attack on Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi, BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said that the Congres chief should have pulled up former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath for calling BJP leader Imarti Devi "item".
"Though, it is an internal matter (of Congress). I certainly think so. In a country where 50 per cent of the population comprises of women, every political party must set a standard," stated Scindia when asked whether Congress chief being women should have intervened.
Scindia said Kamal Nath and Ajay Singh's statements about Imarti Devi, one of the MLAs who switched sides and shifted to Scindia camp leading to the fall of Congress government, showed that the Congress and its leaders' mentality towards women, especially if she is a Dalit.
"If we use such unparliamentarily language against women, it speaks about one's own culture and principles and morals. Kamal Nath has used it against a woman who has risen from ranks and had been a member of his cabinet. Is this the kind of respect you give to your cabinet colleagues? Derogatory language usage speaks volumes about both Kamal Nath and Congress," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Scindia advocated for 'some dignity in language' while stating that there used to be a time when people used to be civil despite disagreements, a tradition lost on the likes of Kamal Nath.
"The comments of Kamal Nath are unwarranted. Imarti Devi has risen in ranks because of her hard work. And look at this man's (Kamal Nath's) thought process- he says he forgot her name. This is how you respect your cabinet colleague why because she is a woman from the Dalit community," he asked.
The BJP leader also mentioned Ajay Singh, another Congress leader, asking people to transform 'imarti' to 'jalebi' after polls.
"Had Arjun Singh, his father, been alive he would have reprimanded him. Former minister Digvijaya Singh made unparliamentary language against Meenakshi Natarajan. Is this the thoughts of Congress for women, I want to ask," said Scindia.
He also slammed the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister for ignoring displeasure of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
"Such is the arrogance that you say to hell with what the former president says about him for using derogatory language against the woman candidate. The arrogance of Congress and Kamal Nath will be shattered by people of the state," added Scindia.
On one of the BJP leaders who too had used foul language against a Congress candidate's wife, Scindia said that if such a remark is made by a BJP member, he condemns it as well.
"I am a person that calls a spade a spade. There are no two rules (about not using foul language against women). There must be a certain standard and parlance below which no one should stoop," said the BJP leader.
Scindia advocated for a stringent law against using derogatory language against women in public and said that he believes "300 per cent that a stringent law should come in force against those who use derogatory language against women".