What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
DEHRADUN: Former Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat who was ousted after his ‘Fati Jeans Wearing Women’ comments from the office of the CM last year, has justified his stance against ripped jeans saying that such attire is not a part of Indian culture.
“I am very happy and proud that I got overwhelming support for my stand against ripped jeans. When we were in college we also wear jeans but if there was even a cut we used to hide it. But today, youth tears their jeans and then wears it,” said the Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Lok Sabha seat in Uttarakhand.
Speaking at an event in Dehradun, Rawat asserted that earlier during his student life there was ‘anushasan, sanskaar and sanskriti’ (Discipline, Decency and Culture) which has vanished today.
“I got the support of lakhs and lakhs of people on Twitter and Facebook. They shared their messages. Ripped jeans are not a part of our culture. Even today, I stand by my statement on ripped jeans,” he said.
The controversy erupted in March 2021, shortly after being appointed as the CM of Uttarakhand, when Rawat remarked that he was shocked to see a mother wearing ripped jeans and boots on a flight with her children.
He also added that Indian culture demands to cover the bodies and it is not in Indian culture to wear ripped clothes.
Akshita Vohra, a resident of Dehradun and alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune who started the hashtag #GreetingsFromMyNakedKnee in March 2021 after Rawat’s remarks, said, “The statement was unacceptable then and it is unacceptable even now. I condemn this sort of thinking. In present times, a type of jeans cannot decide one’s character.”
Interestingly, in March 2021 after criticism from all quarters due to the ‘ripped jeans’ remarks by him, Rawat apologised for his remarks while he was still the CM of the hill state.
“Everyone is free to wear whatever they want. Everyone can wear the cloth of their choice. I apologize if my comments have hurt anyone,” Rawat, was quoted as saying.
Earlier, his wife supported him saying that the CM did not mean to insult women. “He did not insult women but was talking about the preservation of the culture of the country. People making an unnecessary issue out of it do not respect Indian culture,” Rashmi Tyagi Rawat had said defending her husband.
