New Delhi:

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has condemned political leaders remarks against women and directed officials to deal sternly with violators, news agency ANI said Friday.

Sources told ANI Mr Kumar’s reaction came during a review meet with district poll officers, municipal commissioners, and police chiefs before the November 20 Maharashtra election.

The Election Commission had earlier directed political parties and candidates to refrain from deeds, actions or utterances that will be repugnant to the honour and dignity of women.

Mr Kumar was reacting to controversy over comments by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant about Shaina NC, a BJP leader who joined the Shinde Sena faction to contest the election.

Mr Sawant’s comment was in response to a reporter’s question about Ms Shaina’s chances; she will contest the Mumbadevi seat that has been held by the Congress’ Amin Patel since 2009.

READ | Three-Time Winner Amin Patel, Shaina NC Fight For Mumbadevi

Responding to his remark, she said, “I am not some ‘maal‘ (goods). I am a daughter of Mumbai… this is a crass comment by Sawant. I am a ‘mahila‘ (woman) (and) everyone knows the Maha Vinash Aghadi (a play on the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition) does not respect women.”

She also slammed her rival – Amin Patel – for smiling at the remark. “Arvind Sawant called me ‘imported maal (goods)’ and Amin Patel was smiling. Would he have made this remark for his sister or wife?”

“I want to ask Uddhav Sena about Sanjay Raut’s statement… that there is no need to apologise because I am ‘imported’. Mr Raut, if you don’t have any objection… it shows your mentality!”

READ | “Shows Mentality”: Shaina NC On Sanjay Raut Defending Derogatory Remark

Mr Raut had said, “There has been no insult. Arvind Sawant just said Ms Shaina had come from outside (and) if she is ‘imported maal‘, how is this an insult to women?”, and pointed out that similar jabs have always been levelled against Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi.

Mr Sawant later claimed that he had a good equation with Shaina NC and she may have misunderstood his comment. “It refers to ‘goods’, but she could have misinterpreted it. I had no such intentions,” he said. A police case has been registered against Mr Sawant.

The row was also picked up on by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who this week attacked the Congress-led INDIA bloc, of which the Sena (UBT) is a member, for its silence in the matter.

READ | “Mothers, Daughters In Shock”: PM Modi On Shaina NC Remark

The opposition used “foul language” against a woman leader”, Mr Modi said in speech in Jharkhand, where too an election will be held this month.

“Mothers and daughters are in shock (and the) people will teach them a lesson,” he declared, also attacking the Congress for “humiliating” Sita Soren, the sister-in-law of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and a BJP candidate.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attacked the Congress-led INDIA bloc for its silence over Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant’s sexist comments against Shaina NC, a BJP leader who joined the Shinde Sena faction to contest the November 20 Maharashtra election.

The opposition used “foul language” against a woman leader”, Mr Modi said in an election speech in Jharkhand, where too an Assembly election will be held this month. The INDIA bloc, allied with the Thackeray Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP in Maharashtra and with Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in the latter, is seen as the BJP’s primary opposition in each.

“Mothers and daughters are in shock (and the) people will teach them a lesson,” the Prime Minister declared, also attacking the Congress for “humiliating” Sita Soren, his party’s candidate in this election and the sister-in-law of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Arvind Sawant – a Lok Sabha MP – made the objectionable comments last week during a media interaction. He had been asked about Ms Shaina’s chances in the coming election.

Responding to his remark, Ms Shaina said, “I am not some ‘maal‘ (goods). I am a daughter of Mumbai and working dedicatedly for the past 20 years. This is a crass comment by Sawant. I am a ‘mahila‘ (woman), not a ‘maal‘. Everyone knows that the Maha Vinash Aghadi (a play on the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition) has no respect for women.”

“We (BJP) campaigned for him… ask him where he was from. I am a ‘laadli‘ (beloved) daughter of Mumbai, and I am working for the people of the city. I don’t need any certificates from Mr Sawant or the Shiv Sena (UBT).”

Mr Sawant later claimed that he had a good equation with Shaina NC and she may have misunderstood his comment. “It refers to ‘goods’, but she could have misinterpreted it. I had no such intentions,” he said.

A police case has been registered against Mr Sawant.

Mumbai:

Hitting out at the opposition in Maharashtra after Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Arvind Sawant made a derogatory remark against her, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) leader Shaina NC has said while the MP has apologised, another leader from the party, Sanjay Raut has justified the statement, revealing his “mentality”.

A day after a case was registered against Mr Sawant on the complaint of Shaina NC, who is the Shiv Sena candidate from South Mumbai’s Mumbadevi Assembly constituency, the MP apologised for the remark, saying it had been distorted. Speaking on the same day, Sanjay Raut, who is also a Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader and a member of the Rajya Sabha, defended the statement, claiming the candidate from Mumbadevi had come from outside and was thus ‘imported’. He also pointed out that Shaina NC had switched from the BJP to the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena. 

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Shaina NC said, “Arvind Sawant called me ‘imported maal (goods)’ and the Mumbadevi MLA, Amin Patel, was smiling. Would Amin Patel have made this remark for his sister or wife? I want to ask the Uddhav Sena about Sanjay Raut’s statement that there is no need to apologise because I am imported. My family has been working in South Mumbai for three generations, I have also shown proof that I campaigned for Arvind Sawant between 2014 and 2019. I was your ‘Ladki Bahin’ then and have become ‘imported maal‘ now?”

“Mr Raut, if you don’t have any objection to words like ‘maal’, it shows your mentality. It is surprising that Mr Sawant apologised after 30 hours but Mr Raut is saying nothing wrong was said. So, what is the official stand of the ‘Maha Vinash Aghadi’ (a play on the opposition coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi)? What is the stand of Congress Maharashtra chief Nana Patole, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) President Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray,” she asked.

Shaina NC said with the Assembly elections due on November 20, discussions should be about the work that was done.

“The apology was made after a case was registered. Using the word ‘maal’ is objectification and it means that I am someone’s property, which I am not,” Shaina NC said, and went on to list schemes like ‘Ladki Bahin’ introduced for women under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. 

Earlier in the day, Arvind Sawant had said, “I have always been at the forefront of giving women their due respect. My remarks were distorted and I was deliberately targeted. This hurt me. Still, if my comments hurt anybody’s sentiments, I regret them and apologise. In my 55 years of public life, I have never insulted women”

Sanjay Raut, however, defended the remark. “There has been no insult. Arvind Sawant is our senior MP. He just said that the BJP candidate from Mumbadevi (Shaina NC) has come from outside… If she is an ‘imported maal’, how is this an insult to women… What did you say about Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi? You should go through history once…If a person from outside contests elections, people say that they have come from outside…There is no need to create such a big issue,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

Mumbai:

A case has been registered against Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Mumbai South MP Arvind Sawant for his derogatory remark against Shaina NC, who is contesting the Mumbadevi Assembly seat as a candidate from the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena.

Based on a complaint by Shaina NC, the Nagpada Police Station registered a first information report against Mr Sawant, 72. The Maharashtra State Commission for Women has also taken cognisance of the issue and asked the police to probe the matter thoroughly.

“I am not some ‘maal’ (goods). I am a daughter of Mumbai and working dedicatedly for the past 20 years. This is a crass comment by Sawant. I am a ‘mahila’ (woman), not a ‘maal’. Everyone knows that the Maha Vinash Aghadi (a play on the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition) has no respect for women. The Mahayuti government is doing a lot for our womenfolk, like the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme,” said Shaina NC.

She warned that the people of the Mumbadevi constituency would give an appropriate reply to Mr Sawant, who, she claimed, had won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections using the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Though a senior BJP leader earlier, owing to seat adjustments, Shaina NC, 52, joined the Shiv Sena and was given the ticket for the prestigious Mumbadevi seat, where she is fighting three-term Congress MLA Amin Patel and BJP rebel, Atul H Shah.

Mr Sawant had made the comments during a media interaction a couple of days ago, when he was asked about Shaina NC’s prospects.

Responding to his remark, Shaina NC, said, “We (BJP) had campaigned for him (Sawant) and he was elected on our strength. Ask him where he was from. I am a ‘laadli’ (beloved) daughter of Mumbai, and I am working for the people of the city. I don’t need any certificates from Mr Sawant or the Shiv Sena (UBT).” 

Mr Sawant later claimed that he had a good equation with Shaina NC and she may have misunderstood his comment. “It refers to ‘goods’, but she could have misinterpreted it. I had no such intentions,” he said. 

Mumbadevi (earlier Umarkhadi) elected Amin Patel in 2009 and then also during the BJP waves of 2014 and 2019.

Atul Shah, a former MLA from the erstwhile Khetwadi seat, could be a potential vote-cutter and talks are currently on to make him withdraw and bolster Shaina NC’s prospects. Shaina NC’s father was the late Sheriff of Mumbai Nana Chudasama and her mother is Munira Chudasama.