Congress National Spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed was asked to remove her social media post calling Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma 'fat'. Shama Mohamed's post on X labelled Sharma "the most unimpressive captain India has ever had," which was not received well by most.
"Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course, the most unimpressive captain India has ever had!" her post on X tagging the Indian captain read.
Mohamed's poor choice of words was quickly called out by the BJP and cricket fans across the country although she firmly stood her ground. "It was a generic tweet about the fitness of a sportsperson. It was not body-shaming. I always believed a sportsperson should be fit, and I felt he was a bit overweight, so I just tweeted about that, she told news agency ANI. She added that she had a right to voice her opinion in a democracy and she was being attacked for no reason.
Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress distanced itself from her views. The party's Media Department chairperson Pawan Khera said that the remarks made by his colleague do not reflect the party's position. "Dr. Shama Mohammed, National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, made certain remarks about a cricketing legend that do not reflect the party's position. She has been asked to delete the concerned social media posts from X and has been advised to exercise greater caution in the future. The Indian National Congress holds the contributions of sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements that undermine their legacy," his post on X said. The same was posted in Hindi seperatedly by Khera as the issue exploded on Monday morning.
भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस की राष्ट्रीय प्रवक्ता डॉ. शमा मोहम्मद द्वारा क्रिकेट के एक दिग्गज खिलाड़ी पर की गई टिप्पणियाँ, पार्टी के आधिकारिक दृष्टिकोण का प्रतिनिधित्व नहीं करती है।
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) March 3, 2025
उन्हें एक्स से संबंधित सोशल मीडिया पोस्ट हटाने का निर्देश दिया गया है और भविष्य में अधिक सतर्क…
Meanwhile, a television channel claimed that she repeated the claim that the Indian skipper was overweight before affirming that she was not planning to apologise. "Apologise for what? For saying a sportsperson is a bit overweight? Times Now quoted her as saying.
BJP leader and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "It is very shameful that an official spokesperson of the Congress is giving such a statement. This is Congress' statement. They feel that only one person is fit for everything and that is Rahul Gandhi."
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"They are so against the country that today they are using abusive language against our country's cricket captain. I don't know what they mean by this. It is really shameful and I condemn this. The entire nation is seeing the mentality of the Congress," he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also came out in support of Sharma.
"Not an avid cricket fan however even with my limited interest in the game, I can say that Rohit Sharma - with extra pounds of weight or without it, has led India team to great heights. It is his work and commitment to it that matters. Win the trophy, Champion!"
