'Duty Of Women To Save Cultural Heritage': Uttarakhand CM's Wife Defends 'Ripped Jeans' Comment

Amid uproar over Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat's ripped jeans remark, his wife defended his statement, saying his words were not being presented in full context.

In a statement through a video, Rashmi Tyagi said that the entire context in which he made the comment is not being described. "He (Tirath Singh Rawat) said that women's participation is unprecedented in building the society and the country. It is the responsibility of the women of our country to save our cultural heritage, save our identity, save our costumes," Rashmi said.

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What is the controversy?

At an event in Dehradun, Rawat criticised women for wearing ripped jeans and wondered what values they will impart to their children, triggering a protest from opposition parties. The Uttarakhand chief minister said due to a lack of values, youngsters these days follow strange fashion trends and consider themselves to be big shots after wearing jeans ripped at the knees, while women also follow such trends.

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He said youngsters go to the market to buy ripped jeans and if they do not find one, they cut their jeans using scissors. Rawat went on to describe the attire of a woman, who once sat next to him on a flight. He said the woman was wearing boots, jeans ripped at the knees and several bangles in her hands with two children travelling with her. ¡°She runs an NGO, goes out in the society and has two children, but she wears jeans ripped at the knees. What values will she impart?¡± he asked.

Why did it blow up on social media?

The Chief Minister's remarks attracted harsh criticism from all sides, with opposition parties even questioning the BJP's judgement over his appointment. Celebrities, activists and netizens hopped onto the bandwagon, in support of women. #Rippedjeans has ever since been trending on Twitter and hundreds of women have taken to social media to assert that nobody is entitled to judge anyone on the basis of their clothes.

Ripped Jeans aur Kitab.
The country¡¯s ¡®sanskriti¡¯ & ¡®sanskaar¡¯ are impacted by men who sit and judge women and their choices. Soch badlo Mukhyamantri Rawat ji, tabhi desh badlega. #RippedJeansTwitter pic.twitter.com/qYXcN88fY6

¡ª Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) March 18, 2021

#RippedJeansTwitter pic.twitter.com/zwitZiIE9k

¡ª Gul Panag (@GulPanag) March 17, 2021

I mean I¡¯m all for sarees but ripped jeans aren¡¯t bad either ? #rippedjeans pic.twitter.com/KrLraw6yhG

¡ª Ankita Konwar (@5Earthy) March 17, 2021

What was his clarification?

Asked to clarify, Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat (56) said on Thursday that he does not have a problem with women wearing jeans. However, he maintained his objection to women wearing 'ripped jeans'. "I don't mind jeans but even today, I object to ripped jeans," Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat said.