Oblique reference to Surpanakha no laughing matter
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury has not taken kindly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi making fun of her in the House by mockingly referring to a character in the TV serial Ramayana -- possibly Surpanakha.
It all started with Renuka breaking into unstoppable laughter in the House after PM Modi, in his speech, said the idea for Aadhaar was first suggested by the then home minister and BJP leader LK Advani in 1998.
When Venkaiah Naidu, chairman of the Rajya Sabha, chided Renuka for her unbecoming conduct, the Prime Minister said in zest: "Sabhapati ji meri aapse vinati hai Renuka ji ko kuch mat kahiye. Ramayan serial ke baad aisi hansi sunne ka saubhagya aaj jaake mili hai" (Please do not scold Renuka ji, Mr Chairman. After Ramayana serial this is the first time I've had the privilege to hear such laughter).
That might have been the end of the matter but MoS for Home Kiren Rijiju muddied waters by sharing a video of mythological character Surpanakha laughing - enough to send the social media into peals of laughter. But Renuka is not amused and she will file a privilege motion against Rjiju; the video has since been deleted on the minister’s Facebook account.
Renuka also tried turning it into a gender issue and a Congress women members' delegation met Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu over the Prime Minister's jibe and demanded that he should tender an apology. "I have also decided to move a privilege notice against Prime Minister on this issue. I will speak to my party and then decide how to move forward. I am a mother of two daughters and a wife. The Prime Minister has denigrated the status of all women." Hitting out at the PM outside Parliament, Chowdhury said, “My party is with me. I will continue to laugh as there is no GST on laughter”
Surpanakha is one of the most important characters in the epic. Indeed, there is a view that if there had been no Surpanakha, there would have been no Ramayana. She had set in motion a chain of events leading to the destruction of Ravana.