PANAJI: A senior Goa Congress functionary and writer is in the eye of a storm for his Konkani poem, which has invited the ire of several women's organisations.
N Shivdas, a Vice-President of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) and President of Goa Konkani Academy, has penned a poem titled 'Chedi' (prostitute in Konkani language).
Former Goa Women's Commission Chairperson Pramod Salgaoncar, addressing a press conference last evening, said Shivdas should tender a public apology for the poem, which is "not only vulgar but also an insult to womanhood".
Shivdas said he regrets the title of the poem, which compares life with a commercial sex worker. "It was not intended to insult anyone. I wrote it some years ago, when he was young."
However, the women's groups have demanded that the Congress leader step down as President of Goa Konkani Academy, a state-funded institution.
Auda Viegas, a women's activist who heads Bailancho Ekvott organisation, said the writer has no business to insult women like this. "What is he trying to say? Why such vulgarity?"
Viegas, a former teacher, said the poem will leave bad imprints on the minds of youths and students.
Salgaonkar has demanded that the book, which contains, the poem, be withdrawn from circulation.
Tara Kerkar of Savera group said Shivdas should have desisted from writing such a poem. "Even if he wrote it, he had no business to publish and bring it in public domain," she said, adding it is ironical that the writer has devoted the book to his mother.