Women ministers should be ‘modest and polite’: Former Tamil Nadu Congress chief

ERODE: Former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president E V K S Elangovan waded into a controversy on Tuesday, when he stated that a ‘woman minister' should be ‘polite and modest'.

He was referring to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Responding to a query about the recent controversy over a restaurateur apologising to her a day after he raised issues concerning GST, Elangovan told reporters in Erode that "when you are a minister, especially a woman minister, there should be modesty and politeness". "The incident only shows that she doesn't have humanity,'' Elangovan said.

The remarks invited sharp reactions from BJP leaders. State BJP coordination committee convener H Raja said it had become a habit of Congress leaders to ‘insult women' whether they are in India or abroad.

"You call yourself the grandson of Periyar. But your comments on the first women defence minister of the country, who holds the finance portfolio now, displays the grudge you have for women leaders,'' H Raja said in a tweet, demanding an apology from Elangovan.

BJP women's wing president Vanathi Srinivasan condemned the ‘regressiveness of Elangovan who seeks to project women as slaves'. "Who are you to define the qualities of a woman? When you make such remarks about women in govt posts, how will you treat ordinary women if you were to come to power?" she asked and demanded an apology.