Smriti Irani’s ‘Miss India’ Video Spawns Trinamool-BJP Twitter Clash
Friday’s online discussion of the movie “Pathaan” included a clip of Union Minister Smriti Irani competing in the Miss India beauty competition in 1998. This sparked an argument between BJP and Trinamool Congress politicians. In response to a tweet from the BJP’s Amit Malviya about the uproar surrounding Deepika Padukone’s orange bikini in one of the film’s songs, Trinamool Congress politician Riju Dutta shared a video of Ms Irani from the swimsuit phase of the competition.
The BJP MP Locket Chatterjee was offended by the remark and accused Mr. Dutta of “misogyny.” In response, the Trinamool Congress representative referred to the BJP officials who had backed the rapists of Bilkis Bano, a victim of the Gujarat riots in 2002, as “sanskari brahmins.”
The discussion took place as right-wing social media users attacked the Shah Rukh Khan movie “Pathaan,” which the BJP, which controls the government at the centre, is supporting. This is the second such virulent campaign this year against a Muslim movie star after Aamir Khan’s “Laal Singh Chaddha” earlier.
Narottam Mishra, the BJP’s home minister for Madhya Pradesh, is one of many who has attacked the movie, claiming one of its songs exhibited a “polluted mindset” and threatening to prevent its release there.
Deepika Padukone’s orange dress in the song “Besharam Rang” (Shameless Color), which, according to its critics, resembles the saffron that is sacrosanct in Hinduism and is the primary colour of the BJP, is at the centre of the “Pathaan” issue.
Many people have referenced Smriti Irani’s swimsuit video as an example of the hypocrisy of those who criticise Deepika Padukone’s bikini. Recent years have witnessed an increase in campaigns against Mr. Khan and those of his colleagues who are not viewed as unabashed followers of the ruling party, endangering the country’s thriving film sector.
Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright
