MUMBAI: The BJP protest on the OBC quota issue on Wednesday took a controversial turn with state party president Chandrakant Patil lashing out at three-term NCP MP Supriya Sule, saying she should leave politics and head for the kitchen. "Why are you in politics? You should go home and cook. It's time for you to go home," he said in response to comments made by her earlier in the day.
"She can go to Delhi or to the crematorium. But get us the [OBC] reservation," the BJP leader said.
Patil's comments were widely condemned as regressive and chauvinistic by parties and women's groups, with some calling for his resignation.
"Our government is not repressive. It is his right to say what he wants. I am not thinking about it," Sule said.
Her husband, Sadanand, tweeted: "I am proud of my wife who is a home-maker, mother and a successful politician. One amongst many other hardworking and talented women in India. This is an insult to all women."
Speaking at a party meet, Sule had said that MP got the OBC quota for local body polls shortly after a meeting in Delhi. "The MP chief minister had gone to Delhi. I do not know who they met in Delhi or what they did. But in two days they got justice and we are still facing injustice," she said. "I am definitely going to ask the central government for answers," she said.
Patil responded to her comments while speaking to the media on the sidelines of the BJP protest outside the state secretariat, Mantralaya. "You are an MP and you don't know how to take a delegation and meet a chief minister? It's time for you to go home," Patil said. His comments on the crematorium came in response to Sule's demand for answers from the Centre.
Patil's comments triggered a maelstrom of protest, with many pointing out that the state has a long history of women in politics and that the BJP also has women leaders.
"It is laughable that someone who cannot get elected on his own but grabs a seat from his party's woman MLA is giving advice to an MP who has won Sansad Ratna awards," said NCP spokesperson Vidya Chavan. She added, "Patil should learn to make chapatis. After 2024, at least he will be of use to his wife at home."
"This is a chauvinistic comment and an insult to the dignity of women," said Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe, who heads the women's group Stree Aadhar Kendra. "Statistics show how women's representation in politics has grown," she added.
AIDWA leader Kiran Moghe called for Patil's resignation. "He should quit politics for belittling women in politics," she said. "From the beginning, women have been told to go back to the kitchen, but we refused," she said.
The BJP protest was attended by senior leaders, including Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan and Praveen Darekar. They were detained and later released.
