‘Pickle Selling Mami’, ‘Moodhevi’: DMK-man hurls casteist and derogatory remarks at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

In a recent turn of events, Kavignar Iniyavan, a DMK-affiliated poet, made derogatory remarks targeting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, referring to her as the “Goddess of Misfortune” and a “pickle-selling mami.”

Speaking at a DMK party event, he called the Union Minister “moodhevi munda” and “pickle-selling mami,” stating, “If we send our (DMK) ladies to Parliament with a margin of 2.5 lakh votes, there will be one ‘Moodhevi Munda’ sitting opposite you and will ask you questions. That one (implying Nirmala Sitharaman) will not even stand in a single election. I have just one request. Hon’ble Members of Parliament, when you go to Parliament and if that ‘pickle-selling mami’ comes and stands in front of you, tell her this – I’ve come here after winning 2.5 lakh votes, you talk if you can get one vote from Perungudi.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reacted sharply to these remarks. BJP Tamil Nadu State President K. Annamalai condemned the misogynistic comments, sharing a video on X (formerly Twitter).

He stated, “The DMK has made it a habit to provide stage only to abusers whose means of survival is by passing derogatory remarks on @BJP4India’s women leaders. This sickening attitude is promoted by this Govt, which would go to any length to arrest @BJP4TamilNadu volunteers for their social media posts but takes no action for filth such as these. @BJP4TamilNadu strongly condemns the remarks made on our Hon FM Smt @nsitharaman avl and we have sought the intervention of TN Police for immediate action on this individual.”

BJP MLA from Coimbatore South, Vanathi Srinivasan, stated that a police complaint would be filed against Kavignar Iniyavan.

DMK’s Dictionary of Slurs Against Women

Moodhevi: The Goddess of misfortune, now used as a derogatory term.

Munda: A Tamil insult used disrespectfully towards widowed women.

Mami: Used as a slur, particularly by Dravidian ideologues, when referring to Tamil Brahmin women in a derogatory manner. The reference to pickle selling is due to the traditional involvement of Tamil Brahmin women in making and selling homemade pickles.

Political experts view this incident as Kavignar Iniyavan, a relatively unknown figure, attempting to gain fame through controversial statements.