Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; December 3, 2019)

You’re raising sons wrong in this country. There’s a defect because another rape has happened in Hyderabad,” said Mahima Chaudhry during a session at the Times LitFest in Delhi, urging audience to introspect on how sons were being raised in India.

‘EQUALITY BEGINS AT HOME’
“Another rape has happened in Hyderabad, which everyone is tweeting about. I feel embarrassed, I feel hurt. I feel like it’s me who has been raped every time I hear about an incident like this,” she said, adding, “When I go to speak at schools, I speak to mothers and fathers because the way we are raising kids in our country is wrong. Say, in a family there is a 12-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, and a guest visits. It’s the girl who’s asked to serve tea and not the boy. Why?”

“If dinner needs to be served to the father, if clothes need to be ironed, parents ask the girl to do it, not the boy. Why? Equality needs to begin at home. When a boy comes home late from college, nobody questions him. But if a girl is late by even half an hour, the mother asks, ‘Kahan thi?’ Why are you not asking the boy where he was? You should have the same rules for boys and girls at home. You should ask them the same questions because there is a defect in the way we are raising our kids. You have to give them the same liberties, the same treatment, and the same freedom,” she said.

‘I AM HAPPY WITH NITIN GADKARI FOR MAKING TRAFFIC RULES STRICTER, REVISING FINES’
Mahima also thanked the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for revising fines for traffic violations, such as over speeding and drunk driving. Under the new Motor Vehicles Act, which came into effect from September 1 this year, fines for traffic violations have been increased.

Sharing a grim experience regarding this, Mahima said, “One morning, while I was going for the shooting of my third film Dil Kya Kare (1999), a truck hit my car. It smashed the window of my car and the glass pierced my entire face. When I saw my face in the hospital, I collapsed. That is when my struggle began, after making a successful debut with Pardes opposite Shah Rukh Khan. I didn’t want to tell people that this has happened to me. I begged Ajay Devgn, who was also the producer of the film, to not tell anyone. I told Ajay, ‘Abhi toh meri zindagi khatm hui hai, career khatm hua hai, but there is some hope. Par agar logon ko pata chal gaya toh bolenge iska toh chehra hi kharab ho gaya. I would be buried.’ Ajay Devgn took care of everything. This is why I am so happy with Nitin Gadkari (Minister of Road Transport and Highways) for making traffic rules stricter.”

MUMBAI MIRROR (February 7, 2018)

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari was quoted as saying on Tuesday that his ministry has requested actor Akshay Kumar to be the brand ambassador for road safety awareness campaign. “I have talked to Akshay Kumar and he said that he will fully cooperate with us. He said he will be our brand ambassador,” Gadkari said on the sidelines of an event in Delhi.

“We will ask celebrities... so that they call upon people, which will have a positive impact on the new generation,” the minister added, saying that the biggest priority of his ministry was to reduce the number of road accident deaths.

Gadkari had earlier said that as part of the plan to reduce road fatalities, the transport ministry has undertaken Rs 12,000 crore project to rectify black spots.

THE TIMES OF INDIA (November 19, 2017)

Jaipur: As protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmavati’ gain momentum, Vasundhara Raje on Saturday became the first chief minister to come out openly against the film, writing to information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani asking that the movie not be released without the changes demanded by the “aggrieved community” being made.

The Rajput community has been demanding that the film be banned, claiming that it is a distortion of history and portrays Rani Padmini in poor light. Sri Rajput Karni Sena, which has been spearheading protests against the film, has warned that it will not allow its release. SRKS chief Mahipal Singh Makrana even threatened to maim actor Deepika Padukone, if she “continues to provoke protesters”.

Several BJP functionaries, including Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari, have expressed reservations about ‘Padmavati’.

Raje seeks expert panel to review film

However, Raje is the first CM to back the Rajput community in its demands on ‘Padmavati’. In her letter to Smriti Irani, she said that it should be ensured that the film does not hurt the sentiments of the Rajput community.

A statement released by the chief minister’s office said Raje had told the I&B minister that the censor board should consider all possible consequences before giving a certificate to the film. “She has suggested constituting a committee, which includes expert historians, film personalities and representatives from the (Rajput) community. She said it should sit and discuss the screenplay of the film. Thereafter, suitable changes should be made to ensure that the film does not hurt the sentiments of society as a whole,” the CMO statement said.

Raje has said that while filmmakers do have the right to make a film as per their wisdom, the Constitution also has provisions to curb a right if it poses a threat to the law and order situation or hurts the morality or public sentiments of a community. “Hence, there is a need to review the film,” the CMO statement quoted the Rajasthan CM as having said.

While most of her ministers have already spoken in favour of reviewing the film before it is released, this is the first time that the Rajasthan CM has taken a stand over the controversy. A delegation from Mewar, which met the chief minister on Saturday, thanked her for the gesture.