Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday took a jibe at BJP leaders and PM Narendra Modi over Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat’s remarks about women wearing ripped jeans are sending the wrong message to the society and degrading Indian culture. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari can also be seen in the photo shared by Gandhi.
"Oh my God!!! Their knees are showing," she wrote, sharing the photos on Twitter of the BJP leaders wearing white shirts and khaki shorts - the old uniform of the party's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). One of the photos also featured RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
On Tuesday, Rawat aroused controversy when he said that because of a lack of values, young people, including women, follow strange fashion trends these days by wearing jeans ripped at the knees. He made these comments at a workshop organised by the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in Dehradun.
"Showing bare knees by wearing ripped jeans just to look like rich kids is the value given now which is just a race towards westernisation when the western world today are following us. Ripped jeans pave the way for societal breakdown and is a bad example for children," the Uttarakhand CM had said.
Tirath’s remarks drew massive flak amongst people, from politicians to actors. Everybody criticised Rawat’s thoughts as a misogynist and started a trend on Twitter by women sharing their pictures in distressed jeans.
However, when Tirath’s comments created an uproar, his wife Rashmi Tyagi defended him saying that his words were wrongly interpreted. She said that everyone is debating what he said but why no one is talking about the good work is doing in such a short span. "He (Tirath Singh Rawat) said that women's participation is unprecedented in building society and the country. It is the responsibility of the women of our country to save our cultural heritage, save our identity, save our costumes," said Rashmi.