When a leader is a woman, entrenched bigwigs are deeply threatened. When she is powerful, patriarchs shriek in outrage. Mamata Banerjee is the self-made leader of a political start-up, the All-India Trinamool Congress. She’s a three-time chief minister, four-time Union minister and seven-time Member of Parliament. She’s never baulked in the face of the relentless abuse which has been hurled at her all through her public life.
In a rare and rather belated act of censuring misogyny, the Election Commission has acted against the latest politician to abuse Banerjee. The EC has barred Abhijit Ganguly, the BJP’s Tamluk candidate and former judge of the Calcutta High Court from campaigning for 24 hours for his foul language about India’s only woman chief minister.
