"Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman!"; Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed's X post body shaming Indian captain sparks row

NEW DELHI: Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed has come under fire for her X post that Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma is fat and a bad captain. The Congress leadership intervened and removed the post after the incident became controversial, but the criticism against Shama has not stopped. Although Congress clarified that they do not support the post, Shama's post has given Congress a bad name.

The post criticizing the Indian captain came after Rohit was dismissed for 15 runs off 17 balls in India's final match against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy group stage. "Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had!" Shama wrote on X. Even journalists from Pakistan came forward to criticize Shama.

"The Congress, which has lost over 90 elections under Rahul Gandhi's leadership, is now body shaming the Indian cricket captain at a time when our national team is in pursuit of the Champions Trophy! This is a premeditated put-down to undermine the team's morale at a crucial time. Their disdain for our icons is apparent. They resent a self-confident India," Amit Malviya posted on X.

Congress rejects

The Congress has made it clear that Shama's stand is not that of the party. "The Indian National Congress holds the contributions of sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements that undermine their legacy. Shama has been asked to delete the concerned social media posts from X and has been advised to exercise greater caution in the future," Congress media and publicity head Pawan Khera said.

Unfortunate, trivial

BCCI vice-president and Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said that Rohit is one of the most athletic players in the Indian team. “Very unfortunate for a responsible person to pass such a trivial comment when the team is in the midst of such a marquee ICC tournament. It may have a demoralizing effect on an individual or the team. All the players are performing to their highest potential and results are visible. I hope individuals shall desist from making such derogatory statements for personal publicity sake at the cost of National Interest,” Shukla added.

Not body shaming

"It was a generic tweet about the fitness of a sportsperson. It was not body-shaming. I always believed a sportsperson should be fit, and I felt he was a bit overweight, so I just tweeted about that. I have been attacked for no reason. When I compared him with previous captains, I put in a statement. I have the right. What is wrong in saying? It is a democracy..." Shama said.