Wear your homemaker's label but don't judge working moms (and pet parents) Mira Rajput!

Mira Rajput's comments on raising babies and not puppies has fired up working mothers across the country. Many moms are reacting to this by sharing tweets like this one - "I am a working mom and I have not raised my child as a puppy."

Proud to be a working mom and I didn't raise a puppy. #BeBoldForChange #IWD @buzshilpi @SheThePeopleTV pic.twitter.com/nQ9KAMtAZC

— Jyotishree Mohanty (@imperialjyoti) March 11, 2017

Am a proud working mom and didn't raise a puppy #beboldforchange #IWD @buzshilpi @SheThePeopleTV @beyondiversity pic.twitter.com/kCUS5tEqD6

— Sarika Gupta Bhattacharyya (@sarikabhattach) March 11, 2017

Then there are pet parents who are upset with Mira Rajput's insensitive use of 'puppy.'

Also Mrs Mira Rajput Kapoor, raising pets is as big a responsibility as raising a child. So don't talk down to pet parents.

— Harneet Singh (@Harneetsin) March 10, 2017

"Mira Rajput's latest statement is insensitive and distasteful," says Neela Kaushik of GurgaonMoms, a community of mothers in Gurgaon. "But social media, as always has been unforgiving and brutal to a celebrity . If we want conversations around topics to happen, it has to be kept healthy and constructive."

She adds, "I would attribute the insensitive statements to the social conditioning. I am sure social media has taught her a bitter lesson. And lets really hope she becomes an empowered woman with enough sensitivity towards people and their choices."

Midst of all of this 'puppy' commentary came a comment of one of India's most seasoned bankers - Manisha Girotra of Moelis. In a conversation with Humans Of Bombay she said,

"Leaving my daughter behind when she was ill doesn’t mean I don’t love her-- on any other day I would have taken that day off…but my husband did it instead…so does that make me a bad mother? Leaving my daughter behind when she was ill doesn’t mean I don’t love her-- on any other day I would have taken that day off…but my husband did it instead…so does that make me a bad mother?"

Manisha adds, “Back then, the maternity leave was just 3 short months and there were no creches at work — so I would bundle my daughter up with the nanny, keep her in a hotel nearby and rush to her in between work to feed her. While my daughter was growing up, I realised that the stereotypes are created by society and on so many occasions by women. I remember, I was traveling for work once and couldn’t attend her parent-teacher meet, so my husband took her and all the mother’s there applauded him for being so ‘involved’— he came back feeling on top of the world but for mothers it’s considered a part of their duty and that’s where the problem lies. I was termed, a ‘bad mother’ because I couldn’t make it and this is 1 of a 100 incidents.'

Mom and author of books on children, Kiran Manral says parenting a baby is an equal responsibility for both mother and father. "Yet the crushing indictment of mother who gets back to work soon after a baby does not take into account that perhaps a mother is compelled economically to get back to work. Or even that a mother might have career responsibilities that are important to her. What we must realise is the need for a concerted push for more friendly policies and better childcare facilities for working moms which would stop making it an either or choice."