Chennai, Aug 24:
Industries Minister S Keerthana on Sunday hit out at the controversy surrounding a viral video involving a woman who was mistaken for her, describing the episode as an example of misogyny and a regressive mindset that subjected women to scrutiny over their appearance and personal lives.
Clarifying that the woman featured in the video was not her, Keerthana questioned why it should matter even if she had been the person in the video.
She said the controversy demonstrated how political opponents were attempting to shift public discourse away from issues of governance and performance towards the personal lives of women.
“The fact that a video of a woman simply going about her day can spark political hysteria tells you everything about the fragile, regressive mindset behind it,” she said in a social media post.
Keerthana alleged that those unable to challenge their political opponents on policies, governance or their track record were instead resorting to narratives centred on personal lives.
“Misogyny is the oldest weapon of those who have nothing substantive to positively contribute,” she said.
She also questioned the continued tendency to judge women on the basis of their clothes, appearance or whether they appeared happy.
In a pointed message to the woman who was wrongly dragged into the controversy, Keerthana apologised for the attention and abuse directed towards her.
“You look stunning, and I hope you keep living on your own terms,” she said.
The controversy subsequently drew a response from DMK IT wing secretary and former minister TRB Rajaa, who backed Keerthana and condemned attempts to demean women and their personal choices.
Rajaa said political rivalry could never be used as a justification for abuse or misogynistic attacks.
He said it was unacceptable to defend offensive conduct by arguing that political opponents had engaged in similar behaviour.
“Even if your worst enemy did something wrong, it never gives anyone the right to abuse, demean or throw muck at another person. Especially a woman,” Rajaa said.
He maintained that the DMK stood for women’s dignity, rights and freedom and said the party would not tolerate conduct that crossed the limits of decency, irrespective of who was involved.
Rajaa also urged party supporters against using the argument that “they did it, so we did it too” to justify offensive social media activity.
He said the DMK IT wing would bring such matters to the attention of the party’s legal wing if necessary.
The episode has consequently moved beyond the identity of the woman in the video and triggered a broader political debate over the use of women’s personal lives and images in political discourse.
Keerthana’s response sought to shift the focus towards the larger question of how women in public life are subjected to scrutiny, while Rajaa’s intervention underlined the political consequences of abusive social media campaigns.
The minister’s remarks also come amid increasing reliance on social media as a political battleground, where videos and images can rapidly circulate without context and trigger controversies before their authenticity or identity is established.