After having come in for a severe criticism from various quarters for his “sexist” remark that liquor brands be named after women to boost their sales, a chastened Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan on Monday apologised for what he calls it as his “tongue-in-cheek” comment.
A day after he put his foot in mouth through his bizarre comment, Mahajan said, “There are 65 such liquor brands that have no demand in the market. That was why I said it jest that they be named after women so that their sales could go up. I had no intention to insult the sentiments of women while making that comment. If I have hurt the sentiments of any section of the society, I apologise for my comment”.
Speaking at a organised to launch the cane crushing season at a co-operative sugar factory in Nandurbar district of north Maharashtra, Mahajan alluded to a lament by the chairman of the sugar unit that there was a slump in the sales of liquor in distillery attached to his sugar factory and came up with a suggestion that subsequently landed him an embarrassing situation.
Alluding to his visits to senior politician Shankarrao Kale’s largest country-liquor producing distillery at Kopargaon in western Maharashtra and another distillery unit belonging to elderly politician Shankarao Kolhe, Mahajan had said: “The chairman of sugar factory here tells me that there is not much of a market for the liquor produced at his distillery. I had gone to Kopargaon, where Kale told me his liquor brand name is Dingri, while Kolhe told me that his liquor brand name is Bobby. The third liquor brand name is Julie. All these three brands are doing excellent business... That’s why I asked your chairman as to what his liquor’s brand name. He said: Maharaja. There lies the problem. I told him he should change the brand name to Maharani. Once the name is changed, you will get to see his liquor sales shooting up”.
Not unexpectedly, Mahajan’s comment sparked a wide-spread public uproar across the state. Various women groups and leaders, including AAP‘s national spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon demanded the minister’s apology for his “shameless” comment.
Anti-liquor campaigner advocate Paromita Goswami lodged a complaint against Mahajan with the Mul police station in Chandrapur district of eastern Maharashtra, while the NCP workers staged protests against the minister in Nashik and Solapur districts.
Reacting to NCP spokesperson Nawab Mallik’s comment that the minister had made the questionable comment under the influence of alcohol, Mahajan said: “The NCP leaders have criticised me saying that I had made the comment in a drunken state. let me clarify that in my 25-year-long political career, never have I consumed liquor or tobacco or smoked a beedi. Being a sportsman, I have always supported the anti-liquor campaigns. All the same, I have erred in making a comment linking liquor brands with women. I know I should not have made the comment. I regret whatever I said yesterday”.