TN minister slams AIADMK MP C Ve Shanmugam for controversial remark on women

Chennai, Oct 14 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Minister P Geetha Jeevan on Tuesday lashed out at AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP C Ve Shanmugam for his controversial remark on women.

His comment reflected the AIADMK’s perversion and cruelty towards women, she said, and wondered if he could have made such a "disgusting" remark when former Chief Minister and AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa was alive.

"The former AIADMK Minister C Ve Shanmugam made a disgusting comment comparing women to election freebies while speaking at the AIADMK Booth Committee training meeting. He had said there will be many announcements for the elections. They will give mixers, grinders, goats, cows, and even a wife to each person for free," the minister said.

She further said, "AIADMK’s perversion and cruelty towards women has been revealed. Shanmugam is not qualified to be a politician, let alone being a human," Geetha Jeevan said in a statement here.

Had he spoken in such a derogatory manner when Jayalalithaa was alive, she would have expelled him from the party, she said, and hit out at AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for not censuring Shanmugam.

Women under the DMK rule were being empowered through numerous welfare initiatives. As a result, their living standards have improved, and they were proving their capabilities in diverse fields. Women constituted a major segment of the workforce in Tamil Nadu factories, the minister said.

"There's a long history of politicians who have lost their positions for defaming women. People will give a befitting reply to the AIADMK and its allies in the 2026 Assembly election for disrespecting women," she said. PTI JSP JSP KH