The National Commission for Women (NCW) and apex child rights body NCPCR on Thursday sought explanations from Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Jitu Patwari over his "misogynistic" and "derogatory" remarks relating to the girl child.
In a veiled attack on the BJP government at the Centre, Patwari on Twitter had said that in an attempt of giving birth to a son called development, five daughters were born namely demonetisation, GST, inflation, unemployment and economic slowdown.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said the tweet not only supported the age-old evil of preferring a boy instead of a girl child, leading to high rates of female foeticide in the country but it further demonstrated his mindset and approach towards the girl child in general.
"That as a political leader, it is unethical for you to violate the deepest constraints of morality to take any political digs at anyone else and to achieve greater goods and avoid disasters for the society at large," the NCPCR said in a letter to Patwari.
"That audacious act of passing such a disparaging statement through your tweet not only belittles the very existence of the girl child but further takes us decades back, making all the incalculable struggle and sacrifice for achieving gender equality and rights of girl children in vain," it said.
In light of the above, the commission said, "it humbly requests your good self to kindly apologise to children of the nation for passing such remarks through your tweet dated June 24 and revert to the commission regarding the same within three days".
The NCW has also taken suo motu cognisance of the remark.
NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to Patwari seeking an explanation from him at the earliest on the objectionable tweet made by him.
"The commission condemns such misogynistic comments on daughters which send out a wrong message to the society. It is very unbecoming of a political leader to make such demeaning and misogynistic remarks against girls," the NCW said in a statement.