New Delhi: Minutes after the women and child development (WCD) ministry announced actor and social activist Nandita Das as the ambassador for the ministry’s campaign to save the girl child, “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao”, twitterati lashed out at minister Maneka Gandhi, slamming her and the ministry. The actress had campaigned openly nationally and internationally to stop Narendra Modi from becoming Prime Minister.
Asking why someone “who signed Kasab’s mercy petition be the face for the campaign”, twitterati called the actress “venom spewing”, with some saying: “Why should Nandita Das accept the offer which as per her is led by Hitler.” Many asked for her removal, recommending the names of sportswomen like Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom for the campaign. People also said that “presenting real stories of brave girls is more powerful than random quotes by celebs”. Actresses like Kareena Kapoor, Sushmita Sen and Madhuri Dixit have also been selected for the campaign.
One Anshul Agrawal said that the campaign “deserves better brand ambassador than Nandita Das”. Another, Ajit Sahu, said: “Shame on ministry of WCD @PMOIndia abusers getting rewarded.” The outrage continued for a few hours, pushing the ministry to delete the tweet and the actress herself tweeting: “Is it time to calm fires online and share ideas with an open mind? Is it time to be part of solutions and not just the problems?”
Ms Das had been trolled on Twitter earlier too for her supposed statement that “men are potential rapists”.
The quote had gone viral, leading to the online community, especially men, condemning it. After realising that the topic had created a furore, the actress clarified that she was falsely quoted.
