Sharif’s ‘dehati aurat’ comment sparks controversy

A huge controversy sparks in India over Nawaz Sharif’s alleged comments of comparing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a “dehati aurat” (village woman).

The “dehati aurat” comment went viral after BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi broke the news at the rally in Delhi on Sunday.

Renowned Pakistani journalist and TV anchor Hamid Mir claimed that Nawaz Sharif referred the style of Indian Prime Minister’s complaining to US President Barack Obama of a “dehati woman” in presence of both Indian and Pakistani reporters.

Mir also said that Nawaz Sharif felt that Manmohan Singh’s authority is in question in India after Rahul Gandhi publicly insulted him over the ordinance on convicted leaders.

“Unka ye khayal hai ki Manmohan Singh kamzor hai aur Rahul Gandhi ne unke saath kal jo kiya hai, uske baad Manmohan Singh sa’ab ki credibility India may kaafi kharab ho gayi hai. Wo ab position mein nahin hai ki Pakistan ke saath koi bada breakthrough kare” Mir said.

Narendra Modi on Sunday raised the issue and dare Pakistani Prime Minister.

“How dare you (Sharif) address my nation’s prime minister as a village woman? There cannot be a bigger insult of the Indian prime minister. We can fight with him on policies but this we will not tolerate. This nation of 1.2 billion will not tolerate its prime minister’s insult,” Modi said.

“The journalists who were sitting in front of Nawaz Sharif when he was insulting our prime minister should also answer to the people of my country. I want to ask those journalists, I don’t know who were they but journalists of my country who were having sweets sitting with Nawaz Sharif when he was abusing our prime minister calling him a village woman, I expected those Indian journalists, the country expected them, to refuse the sweets and walk out,” Modi added.

NDTV reporter Barkha Dutt was present at the meet and she denied any such comments been made in her presence.

“The phrase ‘dehati aurat’ was never used for PM Manmohan Singh in my presence,” Barkha Dutt said.

“The BEA believes that such statement aims at demeaning Indian media, which is a key institution of democracy. The association is disturbed at the attempt to project Indian media team visiting the UN in a poor light. Modi’s statement has been made without knowing the full facts of the matter and without realizing the dignified role media is expected to play at international,” the Broadcast Editors’ Association said.

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