Painted women protesting, not students: Abhijit Mukherjee

While many in India may see the protests in Delhi a sign of protest against the treatment of women in the country, President Pranab Mukherjee’s son and MP Abhijeet Mukherjee claimed that the women participating in the protests were “pretty women who were dented and painted”. In an interview to ABP Ananda,  Abhijeet Mukherjee said, “This is almost like the Pink Revolution. These women who are protesting have no contact with ground reality.” “These pretty women, dented and painted, who come for protests are not students. I have seen them speak on television, usually women of this age are not students,” he said in Bengali. [caption id=“attachment_570492” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Abhijeet Mukherjee. PTI[/caption] He said that students, who go to discotheques, think it is a fashion statement to hold candles and protest. Mukherjee’s comments drew flak from women politicians including Brinda Karat and Smriti Irani, who said the comments were extremely obnoxious and demanded a public apology. His comments come at a time when the whole nation is seething over the brutal rape of a 23-year-old Delhi girl who is fighting for her life. She was admitted to the the Safdarjung Hospital on 16 December and was moved to the Mt Elizabeth Hospital last night for further treatment. Her condition remains critical. You can watch the video here: