NEW DELHI: The sordid saga of sacked and arrested Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar took a new turn on Monday when the National Commission for Women (NCW) summoned Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashutosh for defending the minister in a blog saying the video showed an act which was “consensual”. Delhi Police also registered a case against the leader. Ashutosh’s summoning led to a war of words between him and NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam as he claimed the summons was politically motivated as the NCW chief was a BJP member. Kumaramangalam, on her part, said she had given up her BJP National Executive membership the day she joined the NCW. The NCW took suo motu cognizance of his blog and asked him to appear before it on Thursday.
Kumaramangalam said: “We have asked him to come on September 8. This is in response to what we feel is a very reprehensible and demeaning blog Ashutosh wrote, where he defended a man accused of rape.”
“...The Commission has taken note in the larger interest because we feel that as a spokesperson of a party that governs Delhi and whose members have been accused of many incidents of violence against women he should not be writing a blog like this which reeks of patriarchy and misogyny,” she said.
“Why did he jump the gun. The police had taken cognizance immediately and there was no shroud on what action the police had taken. Jumping the gun is also a sign of patriarchy in our country. This is not a blog especially the spokesperson of a party, whose minister committed the crime, should be allowed to get away with.”
Ashutosh had written in his blog: “This video encompasses pictures of a man and woman indulging in a sexual act. The video establishes that both individuals knew each other and consented to sex in a private space away from public glare. The question then is that if two consenting adults are physically involved with each other, is it a crime?” He had referred to the reported relationships of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru with women to defend Kumar over the “objectionable” CD showing him in a compromising position with a woman and claimed he was sacked for “perception management”.