Former army man and film-maker Major Ravi, whose controversial comments on Malayalam news anchor Sindhu Sooryakumar, clarified that he did not make any derogatory comments by specifically taking someones’s name.
Major Ravi in a controversial statement said that he would like to “spit” at Sindhu Sooryakumar’s face. Sindhu, chief coordinating editor of Asianet News, had drawn much flak from right-wing activists after she hosted a debate on Mahishasur Jayanti.
Sindhu Sooryakumar Image Courtesy: Bhaskar.com
Ravi criticized the journalist during a public function on Saturday. He reportedly suggested that Sindhu hadn’t found anything wrong in addressing Durga as a sex worker since that was her ‘culture’.
“ It is akin to saying that she would not have any problem even if someone calls her own mother names. If granted permission I would spit on her face,” he said.
However, later in an interview with Onmanorama, he said that he stands firm on his remarks and didn’t make derogatory comments against Sindhu.
“I haven’t insulted any channel or any media person by taking names. Some websites had reported that I had passed derogatory comments against a media person by taking her name. This is total rubbish,” Onmanorama quoted Ravi.
Anyhow, he admitted that he hadn’t watched the footage of the controversial debate entirely and had reacted to newspaper reports.
“If the woman termed Goddess Durga as sex worker, she too belonged to the same category, I had said. I don’t regret making such comments against a woman. If a woman can make such statements, my reaction would be on this line,” Onmanorama qouted him.
Sindhu had hosted the debate on Mahishasur Jayanti after union HRD minister Smriti Irani vilified the students of JNU for allegedly celebrating the birth anniversary of the demon Mahishasura—whom the Hindu godess Durga had slain.
Right-wing activists had questioned the journalists ‘audacity’ to justify Mahishasur Jayanti and allegedly threatened her over several phone calls. The police had later arrested five RSS workers in connection with the case.
In an earlier conversation with Folomojo, Sindhu had reiterated that she hadn’t called Durga a ‘sex worker’. She had said, “I did not moderate a debate that discussed ‘if Durga was a sex worker or not’. I moderated a debate which discussed ‘how is it an act of treason to celebrate Mahishasur Jayanti?’”
