Explained: Row over Surjewala's 'vulgar' comments against Hema Malini
What's the story
The Election Commission of India (EC) has issued a show-cause notice to Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala over his comments about Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and film actress Hema Malini. Surjewala's words were deemed "undignified, vulgar, and uncivilized" by the poll body. He has been asked to respond by 5:00pm on Thursday, explaining why he should not face appropriate action for violating the Model Code of Conduct. Here is a breakdown of what led to the show-cause notice.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The controversy began last Wednesday when Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP's IT department, shared a video of Surjewala delivering a speech on social media. In the video, Surjewala appears to say, "Why people elect their MLAs/MPs? So that they (MLAs/MPs) can raise the public's voice. It's not like Hema Malini, who was elected to lick." The remarks drew criticism from the BJP, which filed a complaint with the ECI.
Defend comments
Video posted by the BJP leader was edited: Surjewala
However, Surjewala defended his comments, saying the video posted by the BJP leader was edited. He alleged that the BJP distorted and shared the video to distract the country from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's anti-youth, anti-farmer, and anti-poor policies. He also published another section of the video that Malviya shared, in which he can be seen saying, "We also respect Hema Malini a lot because she is married to Dharmendra ji and is our daughter-in-law."
Twitter Post
Surjewala shares video to counterattack BJP
भाजपा की IT Cell को काट-छांट, तोड़-मरोड़, फ़र्ज़ी-झूठी बातें फ़ैलाने की आदत बन गई है, ताकि वो हररोज़ मोदी सरकार की युवा विरोधी, किसान विरोधी, गरीब विरोधी नीतियों-विफलताओं व भारत के संविधान को ख़त्म करने की साज़िश से देश का ध्यान भटका सके।
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) April 4, 2024
पूरा वीडियो सुनिए - मैंने कहा "हम तो… pic.twitter.com/hEtJYaswzE
Hema Malini
Malini responds to Surjewala's remark
Later, Malini also got dragged into the row. Responding to Surjewala's derogatory remarks, she said that the leaders of the opposition should learn how to respect women from PM Modi. She told the media before filing her candidacy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that opposing parties exclusively target "popular people." "They target only popular people because targeting the unpopular ones won't do them any good... They should learn how to respect women from PM Narendra Modi," she told reporters.
Kharge's notice
Congress President Kharge also under EC's scanner
Separately, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has also received a notice from the EC regarding "repeated violations" by senior party leaders. The commission has asked Kharge to outline the steps taken by the party to ensure adherence to its advisory on respecting women's honor and dignity during public discourse. The response is expected by Friday (April 12), as per the communication from the ECI.
Code violation
Recent reprimands by ECI
Last month, the ECI pulled up Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate and BJP MP Dilip Ghosh for their inappropriate comments about women. Shrinate was reprimanded for sharing an objectionable post against Kangana Ranaut, whom the BJP fielded from Mandi, Himchal Pradesh. Similarly, BJP MP Ghosh was chastised for ridiculing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claims of being the "daughter" of various states in a video.