Jaya Bachchan slams Maha minister over remark on Sule: 'Should be thrown out'

Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar triggered a controversy while responding to one of Sule's comments. "Since Sattar himself suggested some days back that the opposition could also avail of 'khokhe (boxes)' as the rebel MLAs were accused of having done," she had said.

A delegation of women leaders - including Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan and other leaders from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - on Monday met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari following the alleged objectionable remarks by state minister Abdul Sattar against NCP MP Supriya Sule. Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan told news agency ANI that they met the Governor, and will meet President Droupadi Murmu soon. “Today we've met the Governor and we will soon meet the President too. The insult of women will not be tolerated. Any person, including politicians, who make objectionable comments against women should be thrown out to set an example,” she was quoted as saying.

Member of Parliaments Priyanka Chaturvedi and Jaya Bachchan.

Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Abdul Sattar triggered a controversy while responding to one of Sule's comments. "Since Sattar himself suggested some days back that the opposition could also avail of khokhe (boxes)' as the rebel MLAs were accused of having done," she had said, "there must be some basis to the allegation". When asked about this, Sattar used strong language against Sule. He was further quoted as saying by news agencies that those who are making such allegations "should get their heads examined".

In the days that followed, protests against the minister were reported in various parts of the state. Activists of Sharad Pawar's NCP staged agitations in Nagpur, Pune, Jalgaon, Nashik, Amravati, Jalna, Latur, Ratnagiri, Baramati and Nandurbar demanding the sacking of Sattar from the cabinet. In Nashik city, NCP supporters beat the effigy of the minister with footwear and shouted slogans against him The minister, who belongs to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, later told a rally in Sillod that he had apologised for a word he had used.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in what seemed to be an indirect jibe at the opposition, said that a code of conduct “should be followed by both sides". “What Abdul Sattar said was wrong and cannot be defended at all. We will always oppose the use of such language. But there should also be a code of conduct which will be applicable to both sides. I do not want to go into details,” he told news agency PTI. Fadnavis added the use of words like "khokhe" and other terms used (against the Shinde-BJP government) is also wrong.

(With inputs from news agencies)