BJP leader S Ve Shekher apologises for offensive Facebook post against women journalists

The post said women reporters had to sleep with their bosses to get their jobs, among other things.

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu BJP leader S Ve Shekher has apologised for sharing a Facebook post that claimed that women journalists had jobs only because they slept with their bosses and that only 'illiterate and senseless scoundrels' became journalists. The excuse Shekher gave was that he shared the post without reading it.

Shekher's apology to women journalists came even as a delegation of reporters from across the Tamil Nadu media met BJP state president Tamilisai Soundarrajan to demand action against repeated insults being hurled by multiple BJP leaders, especially following the controversy over the controversy surrounding Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit patting of a lady journalist's cheek without her consent. The Governor issued a formal apology, but that has done little to hold back BJP leaders.

On Thursday, actor-turned-politician Shekher shared a post by a user named 'Thirumalai Sa.'. The post said, "They are disgusting and pathetic beings. In Tamil Nadu, those without any education, without common sense are the majority of those who come to work in the media. This woman is no exception to that."

"More than the universities, there is sexual abuse in the media. They can't become reporters or news anchors without sleeping with their bosses… In general, the entire media in Tamil Nadu is caught in grips of criminals, scoundrels and extortionists," the post added.

He deleted the post after it stoked a furious reaction online. A day later, he has issued an apology. "I had shared the post by mistake, without reading it. I do not support the derogatory views that are expressed in the post," he said in a statement.

S Ve Shekher is a well-known film and theatre personality whose political career has seen him jump from on political camp to the other while claiming he doesn't like to keep changing the flags he holds. 

He was elected as an MLA on an AIADMK ticket in the 2006 polls, but supported the ruling DMK in the Assembly. He was expelled from the AIADMK In 2009, after which he started talking about launching his own party. He joined the Congress in 2011, followed by the BJP in 2013.