On Monday, Congress party asked its national spokesperson, Shama Mohamed, to take down a tweet in which she had attacked Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma, amid a huge public outcry from both political and sports circles.
The leadership of the party, in view of the massive embarrassment, intervened after the tweet, which was made by using the term "fat sportsperson" for Sharma, resulted in a criticism wave. Mohamed immediately obeyed the order and removed the post.
Pawan Khera, senior Congress leader, replied to the furore on X, clarifying, "Dr Shama Mohamed, National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, made certain observations regarding a cricketing icon which are not that of the party."
Khera added, "She has been requested to remove the concerned social media posts from X and has been cautioned to be more careful in the future."
He also stressed, "The Indian National Congress respects the contributions of sporting legends the most and does not support any remarks that dilute their legacy."
The row was ignited while India played New Zealand when Mohamed tweeted, "Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had."
Sharma's fans immediately retorted with the statistical record of his captaincy, refuting the comment. The BJP too jumped into the bandwagon, accusing the Congress of projecting an "Emergency mindset."
The next day, Mohamed tried to explain her remarks, calling them "generic" and asking why criticism of that sort wasn't acceptable in a democracy. Her explanation did little to assuage the situation, putting Congress in damage-control mode.
Under increasing pressure, the party faced Mohamed's comments and instructed her to take down the post. Not only did Mohamed acquiesce to delete the post but also deleted all content related to it where she had stood by her words.
Even after obeying the party's instruction, Mohamed still hasn't made a public apology.
Read also| Rohit Sharma Rents Out Mumbai Apartment for ₹2.6 Lakh/Month: Square Yards
Read also| Afghanistan is never going to be taken lightly ever again, Says Jonathan Trott
