‘Why are you in politics, go home and cook’: Maharashtra BJP chief tells NCP MP Supriya Sule

New Delhi: Creating furore with his controversial remarks, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday (May 25) asked NCP MP Supriya Sule to "go home and cook" rather than be in politics. As per PTI report, hitting out at Sule over the demand for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) quota, Patil said, "Why are you (Sule) even in politics, just go home and cook. Go to Delhi or to a cemetery, but get us the OBC quota. Despite being a Lok Sabha member, how come you don't know how to get an appointment with chief minister." The Maharashtra BJP chief made the remarks during a protest by the saffron party in Mumbai seeking OBC reservation in elections.

Defending his remarks, Patil said he did not intend to disrespect women or Sule and his remarks were a part of a “rural style”. "Whenever I meet Sule, we always greet each other with respect," he said adding, "My words were part of a style of speaking found commonly in rural parts of Maharashtra. At times, women in villages tell their children to go to a graveyard if they can't do certain things." 

On the heels of the Supreme Court allowing reservation for the OBCs in local body elections in Madhya Pradesh, Sule had said she had contacted MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan during his Delhi visit but he refused to share his plan to get the apex court's nod. 

Reacting to the BJP leader’s comments, Supriya Sule's husband Sadanand Sule called the saffron party "misogynistic". "This is the Maharashtra BJP president speaking about Supriya. I have always maintained that they (BJP) are misogynistic and demean women whenever they can," Sule's husband said in a social media post. 

He further said he is proud of his wife and called Patil's remark an "insult to all women". "I am proud of my wife who is a homemaker, mother and a successful politician, one amongst many other hardworking and talented women in India. This is an insult to all women," Sadanand Sule said. 

(With agency inputs)