Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday courted a controversy with his remarks that “some people are now saying that as Kashmir is open, brides will be brought from there”.
Though Khattar clarified that he was expressing concern over low sex ratio in Haryana at an event in Fatehabad on Friday when he made the remarks in an apparent reference to the scrapping of the special status for Jammu & Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution, Congress and other Opposition parties termed Khattar “despicable”.
National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma said she will seek an explanation from the Haryana chief minister while Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) demanded that an FIR be registered against the Haryana chief minister for the objectionable remarks.
Reacting to the controversy, Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet, “Haryana CM Khattar’s comment on Kashmir women is despicable and shows what years of RSS training does to the mind of a weak, insecure and pathetic man. Women are not asserts to be owned by men.” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too criticised Khattar and said people holding high office should restrain from making insensitive comments about people of Jammu & Kashmir.
Reacting to the criticism, the chief minister accused the media of “running a misleading and factless campaign” against him and shared on Twitter a full video of the event. “Daughters are our pride. The daughters of entire country are our daughters,”
Khattar tweeted while clarifying his position. He also attacked Rahul Gandhi and advised him not to react on “distorted news”.
“Dear @RahulGandhi ji, at least at your level you shouldn’t react on distorted news. I’m attaching a video of what I actually said, and in what context - this will give you clarity of mind,” he tweeted.
“Now some people say, Kashmir is open, they (brides) will be brought from there. But jokes apart, if (sex) ratio is improved, then there will be a right balance in society,” Khattar had said.
Khattar also got the backing of his party, which clarified that the chief minister was referring to the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign of the party and trying to highlight the problems caused by skewed sex ratio. “The statement of the CM is being twisted under an agenda,” the Haryana BJP said while sharing the video of CM.