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Sexist Like Sidhu: Hey Navjot Sidhu, you're not on a slapstick show anymore. Can you please fire your speechwriter?

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Poulomi Ghosh
Poulomi GhoshMay 12, 2019 | 18:29

Sexist Like Sidhu: Hey Navjot Sidhu, you're not on a slapstick show anymore. Can you please fire your speechwriter?

Don’t you listen to what you say? Does everything look like a comedy show to you? Or have you run out of political weapons to hit opponents with, falling back on unbridled sexism?

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu thinks Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that empty vessel that makes too much sound. But we don’t know whether it’s Sidhu’s toxic masculinity or vocabulary's bankruptcy that he reportedly said this: Modi ji uss dulhan ki tarah hain jo roti kum baelti hai aur chudiyaan zyada khankati hai, taaki mohalle walon ko yeh pata chale ki woh kaam kar rahi hai. Bas yahi hua hai Modi sarkaar mein. (Modi Ji is like that bride who makes fewer chapattis but makes a lot of noise with her bangles, so that the neighbours know she is working)

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His party, the Congress, has made several promises for women in its manifesto. Sensitising its leaders about women's empowerment — that comes from within and not through legislation — is not one of them.

So, it was not surprising that the Congress leader was not pulled up by the party for his utterly abominable — 'misogynistic' is an understatement — comment. He probably doesn’t even know why his statement is wrong because he has been criticised for firing a salvo against Modi — not for how he did it. He even tweeted the video from his official Twitter handle.

If you take a look at the video, you won’t fail to notice that it was not an impromptu speech. He was reading out from a piece of paper and a person behind was apparently helping him — taking away the paper already read.

We don’t know who penned down that speech. But the fact that something so insulting is written down and can be passed as a 'political speech' is just the lowest.

Apart from the chairperson of the National Commission of Women, Rekha Sharma, we didn’t hear any other voice protesting what Sidhu said.

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This is 2019.

But rolling chapattis — accompanied by the jingling sound of bangles — is apparently what epitomises 'an Indian bride'. And then, there are apparently some brides who make more noise only to give the impression that they are working.

sidhu-inside_051219123211.jpg
No taalis for you, Sidhu: We don't know whether it's toxic masculinity or intellectual bankruptcy? But we're not amused. (Photo: ANI)

Our objection is not to Sidhu comparing Modi to brides.

But why do you have to demean women to belittle your political opponent? Don’t you have enough political weapons? Don’t you have a whit of sensitivity? Don’t you listen to what you say? Does all this make absolute sense to you? Does everything seem like a slapstick comedy show to you?

BJP gets angry when Navjot refers to the BJP as 'Kala Angrez'. The Election Commission takes notice when there's a complaint, when there's a possible violation of the model code of conduct. 

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Unfortunately, humiliating brides doesn't upset anyone substantially. And though Sidhu and his deplorable misogyny are what we are denouncing, this goes out to all political leaders who get charged up when people clap at their gender jokes, when people giggle when you talk about brides, chudhiyan — and finally, a woman’s underwear too.

You guys are sick to the core.

 

Last updated: May 12, 2019 | 19:15
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