Congress leader Sachin Pilot today weighed in on the controversy over fellow party leader Supriya Shrinate's remarks on actor Kangana Ranaut, the BJP's pick from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi.
"If someone says something wrong, we will never defend it. The language shouldn't be unparliamentary. Character assassination is not nice. Politics should always issue-based," Mr Pilot said at NDTV Yuva Conclave.
"In such a big election, we should focus on issues. We should underline the issues that directly concern the voters, the common public," he added.
A derogatory Instagram post by Congress leader Supriya Shrinate on Kangana Ranaut's electoral debut prompted the National Commission of Women to file a complaint against the politician.
The post accompanying a photo of Ms Ranaut landed weeks before the national elections.
Kangana Ranaut, 37, had earlier hit out at Ms Shrinate, saying that she has played various roles and every woman deserves dignity.
"Dear Supriya ji, in the last 20 years of my career as an artist I have played all kinds of women. From a naive girl in 'Queen' to a seductive spy in 'Dhaakad', from a goddess in 'Manikarnika' to a demon in 'Chandramukhi', from a prostitute in 'Rajjo' to a revolutionary leader in 'Thalaivii'," Ms Ranaut tweeted.
Ms Shrinate clarified that many people have access to her Facebook and Instagram accounts, and someone from them made the inappropriate post.
"As soon as I came to know, I deleted that post. Everyone who knows me, also knows very well that I can never make personal and indecent comments towards any woman. I wanted to know how this happened," she said.
'Slapped BJP Worker Over Rape Threats': Congress On Case Against UP Leader Kangana Ranaut's 'Emergency' Gets Censor Certificate, Release Date Soon Kangana Ranaut's "Country Don't Have Fathers" Remark Sparks Row Walmart Employee's Big Claim After Indian-Origin Teen Found Dead In Oven Who Was Gursimran Kaur, Indian Teen Found Dead In Walmart Oven Businessman's Rs 1 Crore Rolex Gift To Contractor For Building His "Fortress" North Korea Says It Test-Fired Latest ICBM Hwasong-19 On Thursday Ex-Armyman Opens Fire At Man Over Parking Dispute In Pune; Arrested US Elections: 60 Million Cast Early Votes In Kamala Harris-Trump Tight Race Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.