Congress general secretary Gurudas Kamat, to whom the National Commission for Women (NCW) has sent a notice on his remarks allegedly demeaning Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, said on Sunday that the Congress had only been attacking the BJP during the campaigning for the local bodies elections in Rajasthan.
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The Commission has asked Kamat to reply within a week.
“Hundreds of BJP activists led by president of Mumbai BJP women cell Shalaka Salvi and Mumbai Yuva Morcha president Ganesh Pande held demonstrations outside Mr Kamat’s house to protest against his derogatory remarks against Ms Irani. We have asked him to reply in a week’s time”, said NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam.
“Her family’s financial condition was not good; therefore, she worked in a hotel in Versova”. She stressed that in 2004 Irani… “Since, Smriti was only 10th pass, she cleaned tables in the hotel”, he added.
Irani’s party, the BJP lashed out at Kamat as did the leaders of some other political parties accusing him of disrespecting a woman and undermining the dignity of labour. “There is a buzz everywhere that an uneducated sister has been elevated to the position of the education minister of this country”.
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He had reportedly said while referring to Irani that “Her family’s financial condition was not good; therefore, she worked in a hotel in Versova”. She gained stardom by working in TV serials and the rest is history. In a two-page press statement, the Congress vice-president reiterated Kamat’s stand and again demanded PM Narendra Modi to explain the reasoning behind assigning HRD portfolio to Irani who was not even a graduate.
