Bengaluru/Mumbai (Karnataka/Maharashtra) [India]: Reacting to Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal’s furore tweet, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shaina NC on Tuesday said to drag any woman into this controversy irrespective of her ideology needs to be think over again.
Shaina said Rawal is entitled to his opinion but could have avoided dragging a woman into the issue.
“Paresh Rawal is entitled to his opinion when it comes to stone pelters and that could be an emotion echoed by many people. However, to drag a woman into this controversy or for that matter, disrespect any woman irrespective of her ideology needs to be think over again,” Shaina told ANI.
However, another BJP leader S. Prakash took a different stand and said Rawal is known for making sarcastic remarks on Twitter and thus, one should not over blow it.
“Paresh Rawal is known for making sarcastic remarks on Twitter. It should not be taken seriously every time. Look at on the lighter side of it and don’t over blow it,” he told ANI.
The actor-politician raked up a Twitter storm when he took to the micro-blogging site to post a seemingly out-of-context tweet that conveyed the idea of ‘tying’ noted writer Arundhati Roy to an Army jeep, drawing reference from a similar incident when a Kashmiri resident was tied to a jeep last month.
“Instead of tying stone pelter on the army jeep tie Arundhati Roy!” the Lok Sabha member tweeted on late Monday night.
An award-winning writer, Arundhati Roy, is known for her controversial views on Kashmir. She has also widely criticised the Army’s role in the Valley.
In April, a Kashmiri resident, allegedly a stone-pelter, was tied to an Army jeep as a human shield. This incident sparked an outrage in the Valley and across the country, following which an inquiry was launched into the incident.
However, Major Gogoi, who tied the man to his jeep, was awarded Chief of Army Staff’s (COAS) Commendation Card for his sustained distinguished service till now in counter-insurgency operations in the state. (ANI)