Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed faced backlash after criticizing Team India captain Rohit Sharma’s fitness, calling him a “fat sportsperson.” Her comments, made during a match against New Zealand, sparked outrage among fans and the BJP, prompting Congress to ask her to delete the post, which she did. Despite this, she hasn’t issued an apology. Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera stated that Mohamed’s views do not represent the party’s stance and emphasized the respect Congress holds for sports icons. The BJP condemned her remarks as shameful, suggesting they reflect a negative mindset within Congress.
The Congress intervened following its spokesperson Shama Mohamed’s remarks about Team India captain Rohit Sharma’s fitness, which generated significant backlash and embarrassed the party in this cricket-loving country. To address the situation, the party instructed her to remove her post that referred to the skipper as a “fat sportsperson,” and she promptly complied.
Ms. Mohamed’s critical post about Mr. Sharma surfaced during yesterday’s match between India and New Zealand. “Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Needs to lose weight! And of course, the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had,” the post stated, prompting a response from his fans and the BJP.
Fans of Mr. Sharma highlighted the statistics of the team’s performance under his captaincy, while the BJP claimed that her comments showcased the Congress’ “Emergency mindset”.
The following morning, she explained that her remark was “generic” and expressed confusion over how, in a democracy, one cannot freely speak. This clarification, however, did little to mitigate the situation, leaving the Congress in a position to rectify the damage.
In light of the backlash, the Congress distanced itself from Ms. Mohamed’s comments and requested her to remove the post. Soon after, she deleted all her posts, including the one that triggered the controversy and those where she had defended herself.
Nevertheless, she has not issued an apology yet.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera stated this morning that Ms. Mohamed’s remarks do not represent the party’s stance.
“She has been directed to erase the relevant social media posts from X and has been advised to exercise more caution moving forward. The Indian National Congress holds the contributions of sporting icons in the highest esteem and does not support any statements that undermine their legacy,” Mr. Khera stated.
This response followed the BJP’s criticism of the Congress over Ms. Mohamed’s statements, which they deemed “shameful”.
“Do they expect Rahul Gandhi to start playing cricket after failing in Indian politics?” BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari asked in an online post. He later told NDTV that the Congress leader’s comment reflects their party’s “Emergency mindset” and is an affront to every patriot supporting the Indian cricket team.
Ms. Mohamed also responded to a Pakistan-based sports journalist who labeled Mr. Sharma a “mighty effective and world-class performer” in reaction to her post.
“What is so world-class about him compared to his predecessors like Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni, Kohli, Kapil Dev, Shastri, and others! He is a mediocre captain as well as a mediocre player who simply got lucky to become the Captain of India,” she remarked.