On Thursday, October 27, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) women’s wing secretary and MP Kanimozhi took to Twitter to apologise for the unparliamentary remarks made by her party’s spokesperson Saidai Sadiq about women actors-turned-BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu. DMK MP Kanimozhi was responding to a Tweet posted by BJP leader Khushbu Sundar, who tagged Kanimozhi and asked if insulting women was part of the “new Dravidian Model”.
Kanimozhi Tweeted, “I apologise as a woman and human being for what was said. This can never be tolerated irrespective of whoever did it, of the space it was said or party they adhere to. And I’m able to openly apologise for this because my leader @mkstalin and my party @arivalayam don’t condone this.”
The Tweet was in response to Khushbu Sundar, the Tamil actor turned politician who resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP last year.
“When men abuse women, it just shows what kind of upbringing they have had and the toxic environment they were brought up in. These men insult the womb of a woman. Such men call themselves followers of Kalaignar. Is this new Dravidian model under CM Stalin’s rule?” Khushbu tweeted, tagging Kanimozhi.
The entire controversy erupted after a video clip surfaced on social media platforms, wherein DMK spokesperson identified as Saidai Sadiq mocked Khushbu Sundar and three other BJP leaders like actor Namitha, Gayathri Raghuram and Gautami by calling them “items” (a derogatory way of referring to women). The DMK leader was speaking at a public meeting held by the party leaders to thank Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin for getting reelected as DMK leader for the second time.
In his speech, Saidai Sadiq made a sexual innuendo about Khushbu while talking about the time when she was a member of the DMK. He could be heard saying the saffron party depended only on these “actresses” to make inroads into Tamil Nadu.
“Khushbu says that lotus will bloom in Tamil Nadu. I say hair will grow back on Amit Shah’s head but the lotus has no chance of blooming in Tamil Nadu,” Sadiq had said.
“What do you think of yourself? Do you all know how many times my brother Ilaya Aruna did Khushbu? I mean he had meetings with her when she was in the DMK. He brought Khushbu around six times for meetings,” Sadiq had further claimed.
This isn’t, however, the first time Saidai Sadiq has made disparaging remarks. In May 2022, he made a transphobic statement about Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai.