NEW DELHI: Facing flak for his remarks on women wearing ripped jeans terming it 'kainchi wala sanskar,' recently anointed Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat's wife Rashmi Tyagi Rawat defended him saying that his remarks were taken out of context and blown out of proportion. 

In a recorded video statement Rashmi Tyagi said that the entire context in which he made the comment is not being described. "He said that women's participation is unprecedented in building society and the country. It is the responsibility of the women of our country to save our cultural heritage, save our identity, save our costumes," she said. Rawat's wife Rashmi, who teaches psychology at Garhwal university is a former Miss Meerut beauty pageant winner. 

At an event on Tuesday, while addressing a child substance abuse workshop in the state, Rawat had described in detail the attire of a woman who sat next to him in a flight. The woman, he said, identified herself as an NGO worker and was travelling with her kids. "When I looked at her she was wearing gumboots and jeans which were torn at the knees."

The new CM’s remarks immediately drew flak with women rights activists and opposition parties panning him for his controversial remarks and microblogging site Twitter was flooded with thousands of tweets criticising Rawat's comments. 

Men and women alike, right from politicians like Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to Shiv Sena's MP Priyanka Chaturvedi to Amitabh Bachchan’s granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda took to social media slamming Rawat's comments. 

Priyanka Gandhi posted photos of Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat in which they were seen wearing a white shirt and khaki shorts.