BENGALURU : “I wholeheartedly condemn the statement made by KR Ramesh Kumar. It is inexplicable how anyone can ever utter such words. They are indefensible. Rape is a heinous crime. Full stop,” said senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday, commenting on former Speaker and Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar’s insensitive remark on the floor of the Assembly on Thursday.
Kumar, during a discussion on rain and flood devastation in the state on the floor of the Assembly on Thursday, said ‘when rape is inevitable, one should lie down and enjoy it’. The issue echoed in the Lok Sabha too on Friday with Union Minister Smriti Irani saying Congress should first suspend Kumar before talking about women empowerment and raising slogans like “Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon”.
CONGRESS MUST SACK RAMESH, SAYS SHOBHA
Union Minister for State for Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje said, “It is sickening to learn the mindset of a six-time legislator. Ramesh Kumar shouldn’t be allowed to enter Suvarna Soudha. He has denigrated the sanctity of the Temple of Democracy by trivialising rape.
He must be thrown out of the party and Assembly for his insensitive remarks.” Even at the Assembly, which is in session in Belagavi, many leaders, including those from Congress, criticised his comments. State Congress president DK Shivakumar said, “Congress condemns the words spoken by one of our own legislators in the Karnataka Assembly.
The insensitive remarks against women are contrary to the values of gender equality that Congress champions. While we note that the legislator has tendered an apology, the incident in the Assembly is a sign that all of us men in politics need to do better to shed our inherent regressive attitudes towards women.”
In New Delhi, former Union Minister and BJP MP Rajyavardhan Rathore said the remarks are highly condemnable. But he made light of the incident of Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri laughing when the controversial remarks were made, saying that one shouldn’t assume things. However, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi expressed sadness over the Speaker not doing anything when the remarks were made.