National Commission for Women has asked Congress leader Gurudas Kamat on Saturday to explain within a week his alleged offensive remarks against HRD minister Smriti Irani that have invited criticism.
Speaking in Rajasthan on Thursday, Kamat had referred to Irani as a "poncha lagane waali (cleaning woman)" while questioning the minister's credentials to hold the charge of the education portfolio.
"We have sent a show cause notice to Gurudas Kamat over his remarks about Smriti Irani. We have asked him to reply in a week's time," said Lalitha Kumaramangalam, chairperson of the National Commission for Women.
While campaigning for local body elections in the BJP-ruled state, Kamat had said, "I am from Mumbai and I have seen her doing cleaning job in a hotel there. Her family's financial condition was not good. Therefore, she worked in a hotel in Versova. Since, Smriti was only 10th pass, she cleaned tables in the hotel."
"There is a buzz everywhere that an uneducated sister has been elevated to the position of the education minister of this country," Kamat had said.
{{/usCountry}}"There is a buzz everywhere that an uneducated sister has been elevated to the position of the education minister of this country," Kamat had said.
{{/usCountry}}BJP leaders in Rajasthan had slammed Kamat's remarks, saying such "shallow statements" reflect the desperation of the Congress.