Siddharth defends remarks against Saina Nehwal; says 'nothing disrespectful was intended'

Facing massive outrage over his lewd comment against badminton sensation Saina Nehwal, actor Siddharth on Monday attempted to downplay the incident claiming that he had used the word "cock" to refer to the idiom "cock-and-bull". Taking to Twitter, Siddharth claimed that "nothing disrespectful was intended, said or insinuated" through his tweet targeting Saina Nehwal and asserted that "reading otherwise is unfair and leading". The idiom cock-and-bull is usually used to refer to a story/ explanation which comes across as wildly exaggerated or unbelievable. 

The 'Rang De Basanti' actor has been at the hub of humongous flak after he twisted the word "shuttlecock" to hit out at Saina Nehwal's tweet pertaining to PM Modi's security breach. In his tweet, he referred to the Olympic athlete as the "subtle cock champion of the world". "Cock" is a slang popularly used for the male sexual organ. Netizens alleged that by twisting the badminton term "shuttlecock", Siddharth tried to humiliate the star player. Expressing shock over the actor's tweet, several accounts on Twitter dubbed it sexist, crass, and misogynistic.

National Commission for Women seeks action against Siddharth

On Monday, Rekha Sharma, chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), took serious note of the offence. Taking to Twitter, she revealed that NCW had written to the Tamil Nadu DGP, seeking an FIR against the actor. The Commission has sought prompt and strict action against Siddharth for his outrageous remark. Sharma has also written to the Resident Grievance Officer of Twitter India to immediately block Siddharth's account and take appropriate action against him for posting the offensive remark on the social media platform.

"The National Commission for Women has come across a post of Indian actor Siddharth using lewd comments on Twitter on the post of Ms. Saina Nehwal. The comment is misogynist and outrageous to the modesty of a woman amounting to disrespect and insult to the dignity of women on social media platforms. Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the Director-General of Police Maharashtra to immediately investigate the matter and register FIR under relevant provisions of the law," a press note by the NCW read. 

Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal spoke exclusively to Republic and pointed out that she used to like the actor, but the remark he made against her was "not nice". She said, "Ya I’m not sure what he meant. I used to like him as an actor but this was not nice. He can express himself with better words but I guess it’s Twitter and you get noticed with such words and comments. If the security of the PM of India is an issue then I’m not sure what is secure in the country."