Even as the statements of KR Nagar JD(S) MLA Sa Ra Mahesh against Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri, over the past few months, are getting personal, his ‘model’ jibe has drawn flak from a section of citizens, including activists.
Mahesh has been commenting against the DC, since she took charge in Mysuru, on September 29, 2020. Then, he said, “The state government has transferred an officer belonging to a Scheduled Caste community (referring to B Sharath), for a woman officer from Andhra Pradesh, who is running the state.”
On October 1, he had said in a press meet, that the Mysuru Deputy Commissioner’s post is a gift to Rohini Sindhuri to help Andhra Pradesh government and alleged irregularities in the construction of Karnataka choultries in Tirupati. Again on November 28, Mahesh, in a press meet, challenged the DC, to plunge into politics and contest elections. When the DC planned to hold ‘Spandana’, a grievance redressal programme in taluks, a couple of MLAs, including Mahesh, alleged that she was violating the protocol, by not inviting them.
On January 12, during a meeting of Public Accounts Committee of the Legislature, to which Mahesh is Chairman, he asked her to remove the mask and speak, as she was not audible. She said, “We are not supposed to remove the mask in the wake of the Covid protocols”. Then, she sought permission to leave the meeting, as there was no topic from the departments related to the DC.
On April 28, he said, “Serving the people is not like getting publicity, by changing a car tyre,” referring to a video of the DC trying to change the tyre of her car, that had gone viral on the social media.
In a press meet on May 2, he alleged that the district administration has failed to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and said, “We need role model officers, like previous DCs Abhiram G Sankar and C Shikha and not a ‘model’.”
D H Tanuja, an eco-activist, said, “The situation between the first and second wave is completely different. The second wave has engulfed the whole country, not just Mysuru. MLA Mahesh targetting the DC is meaningless. She is a beautiful woman and one cannot hold her responsible for it. On the work front, she is doing her best. It is such a sexist remark. Politicians should help the administration and not bring their morale down.”
“To check the spread of the pandemic, all of us should behave as responsible citizens, everyone including public, administration and politicians, instead of blaming others,” she said.
M Indira, Economics professor, University of Mysore, said, “First of all, it is a sexiest comment. There is no necessity to talk about models. She is certainly a role model for girls and women to be independent. Her videos of changing a car tyre shows that she has no gender bias, dispelling stereotypes. Comparison with earlier DC Abhiram’s response, to the earlier situation, is not correct. Those times were different and the government’s response was also different.”
“The second wave of the Covid pandemic was unprecedented. Besides, our health systems are weak. I think what she is doing, under prevailing circumstances, is correct. She is not disturbed by these comments and is doing her best,” she said.
However, Lubna Tarannum, an entrepreneur, said, “Mahesh’s is a general statement. One should not worry about it so much. This is generation gap. We also have faced this. Even models like Sushmita Sen are role models.”
N Usharani, ICSSR Senior Professor Fellow at University of Mysore, said, “Modeling is a respectable profession and a source of livelihood. We should not cast aspersions on such a profession.”
“In the era of ‘#Blacklives matter’, people’s representatives should enable us to change our perception about the profession, rather than demeaning it. In recent days, even acid victims have walked the ramp, earning respectability. We need to change our attitude towards women. Comparison lets down women badly,” she said.