KOLKATA: Union minister Babul Supriyo on Tuesday 'condemned' a current meme in the social media against eminent Bengali elocutionist Urmimala Bose.
Bose, who had in a Facebook post on September 22 praised the agitating Left students of Jadavpur University "in the present difficult times of the country", was greeted with derogatory remarks having sexist innuendos in a meme in social media on September 23.
The meme has triggered outrage with many prominent personalities including poet Joy Goswami and singer Srikanto Acharya expressing shock.
Condemning the meme, the union minister said in his official Twitter handle on Tuesday, "I deeply and very very strongly condemn this kind of memes !!!! Let's not resort to this kind of deplorable trash."
"I know her personally and will reply to her on what she said when I have the time!!! But till then, Please please do not resort to such obnoxiously dirty play," the singer- politician said.
Earlier the veteran artiste, who commands wide respect in the cultural circles in the city, described the meme as "repugnant".
"Such comments are painful but as a 73-year-old I am more alarmed about the future of young students who must be about the age of my grandchildren, the threats they are facing, they will be facing in the coming days. I am apprehensive about the dangers ahead."
Bose claimed her post on the events at Jadavpur University last week when the union minister was allegedly heckled and showed black flags by Left-wing student activists stemmed from her beliefs as an alumni of JU and as an individual.
"I did not judge the act of the agitating Left students nor do I have the authority to judge the conduct of the union minister when he was prevented from leaving the campus by the students," she said.
Basu had in a Facebook post on Friday shared the post of a friend supporting the agitating JU students and had promised "to join the movement to protest and resist in my own way," whenever the situation warranted.
It was followed by the meme with her pic and some derogatory sexist comments as a caption.
As the meme went around in the social media, there was an outpouring of shock and hundreds of people, including prominent personalities vented their ire and sense of outrage.
In another tweet on Tuesday Supriyo said "Dear Urmimaladi, your religion may be Left, but you have not been born blind.
Why can't you see the real truth, or don't you want to to see it!" While singer Srikanto Acharya wrote on Bose's wall "Those behind such distasteful memes should be taught a lesson and not be allowed to get away," eminent poet Joy Goswami expressed utter disgust and said it is "unthinkable" that such language can be used to attack Bose.
On September 19, Supriyo was heckled and held up for several hours by Left-leaning students of the university, where he had gone to attend a seminar organised by the ABVP.
ABVP activists had barged into the campus in protest against the Left students blocking the path of the central minister and went on a rampage damaging the arts faculty students union room and arts building the same day.