TMC Minister Firhad Hakim takes issue with 'sexist' remarks against BJP leader Rekha Patra

NEW DELHI: West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim sparked controversy after he called BJP leader Rekha Patra ‘maal’ while discussing her Lok Sabha election defeat at the Trinamool Congress in Basirhat.
The comment received a strong reaction from the BJP, with opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari calling it “outrageous” and demanding action against Hakim.

In a video response, Rekha stated, “It is very shocking and very shameful that TMC minister and very close… the so-called right hand of our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Firhad Hakim, has called the women of Bengal ‘maal’. ‘Maal’ is a very cheap, sloppy word… a very disrespectful word to the women, and I am sure not only ‘janab’ Firhad Hakim, but all the MPs, MLAs and the party members of TMC think that the women of Bengal his ‘maal’, which is ‘bhogya vastu’.”
“We are not very shocked ‘Janab’ Firhad Hakim because this is the way your government has treated you,” she added.
This incident follows a recent controversy in Maharashtra where Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant called Shaina NC ‘imported meal’.
After a senior leader of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) made misogynistic remarks, Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC on Sunday responded saying, “I am a woman, not a commodity (“Mahila hoon,maal nahi”).” Shaina, who recently joined Shiv Sena after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is contesting the upcoming Assembly elections from Mumbadevi constituency.
“They should not make the mistake of seeing me as a helpless woman. I have worked in politics and fought for women’s rights for the past twenty years. I will continue to fight this way in the future. I am a woman, not a commodity (Mahila hoon, times nahi),” Shaina NC claimed in a statement about X.
She condemned Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Arvind Sawant for making “derogatory” remarks against her and appealed to women party workers to stand in solidarity with her.
(With input from agencies)