‘Second-grade actor’: Congress MLA’s remark on Madhuri Dixit stirs row

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Tikaram Jully on Thursday sparked outrage by referring to veteran Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit as a "second-grade star" who is "past her prime."
Jully made the remark during a discussion in Rajasthan assembly where the Congress leader questioned the benefit of recently-held IIFA event to the state. He also questioned government's expenditure, saying, "In the name of IIFA, over Rs 100 crore of public money was spent. If you saw the hoardings, it was only a promotion of IIFA and not of Rajasthan."
"What did Rajasthan get from IIFA? The stars who came for the event did not visit any tourist place in the state," Jully said.
"And which big name from the industry appeared? Apart from Shah Rukh Khan, all others were second-grade stars. No other first-grade actor came," he added.
When house members objected to his comments, Jully further stated, "Now, Madhuri Dixit is a second-grade star, her prime has gone. She was a star in the times of her movies like 'Dil' and 'Beta'."
BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya defended the event's importance, highlighting that "Rajasthan hosted an event of IIFA's stature, which usually takes place in mega cities across the world." He highlighted the global exposure and tourism benefits the event brought to the state.
This controversy follows another recent incident involving Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed, who faced criticism for making derogatory remarks about Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma on social media.
In a now-deleted tweet, she wrote, "Fat for a sportsman! And of course, the most unimpressive captain India has ever had!"
She later retracted her comments and congratulated the team following India's Champions Trophy victory.