The Congress has stepped in after its spokesperson Shama Mohamed’s criticism of Team India captain Rohit Sharma’s fitness drew a strong backlash and left the party red-faced in the cricket-frenzy nation. To firefight, the party asked her to take down her post that called the skipper a “fat sportsperson” and she quickly followed the orders.
Ms Mohamed’s post critical of Mr Sharma dropped in the middle of yesterday’s India vs New Zealand match. “Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had,” it read.
Next morning, she clarified her remark was “generic” in nature and that she “failed to understand how in a democracy, we don’t have the right to speak”. This, however, didn’t help and left the Congress embarrassed and with a task in hand to set things right.
Following a backlash, the Congress distanced itself from Ms Mohamed’s remark and asked her to delete the post. Shortly after, she deleted all her posts, including the one that sparked the controversy as well as those in which she had defended herself.
However, she hasn’t apologised yet.
“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,” said Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera.
He said the Congress holds the contributions of sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any remark that undermine their legacy.
