Kerala minister’s remark on women’s transport, health choices sparks row, CPI(M) slams comment
Kerala Transport Minister CP John's remarks that women who use the state's free Priyadarshini bus travel scheme and government hospitals prefer to educate their children in private schools have triggered a political row, with the CPI(M) strongly criticising the comments.
The minister, however, defended his remarks, saying they were intended as self-criticism and not as an insult to women.
The controversy stems from John's speech at the recent Kerala Bus Transport Association conference in Palakkad, where he linked the success of the Priyadarshini free bus travel scheme to the financial condition of women in the state.
The KBTA represents private bus owners and operators in Kerala.
"The reason people leave your buses and wait for Priyadarshini buses, pushing and jostling to board them, is not because they hate you or love me. It is because housewives in our state do not have money in their hands," John said.
He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had recognised this social reality and proposed free bus travel for women.
"The reason Priyadarshini has succeeded is the poverty of Kerala's women. Rahul Gandhi understood the economic condition of women in society and therefore proposed free travel for women in public transport," the minister had said.
John said people's behaviour in Kerala often "astonishes" him, claiming many make contradictory choices regarding public services.
"I don't understand... Women who do not have money to pay bus fares send their children to private schools while seats remain vacant in government schools. They do not even choose private schools where no fees are charged. When illness strikes, they do not go to private hospitals. Instead, they bring their fathers and husbands to the verandahs of government hospitals," he said.
Referring to public transport, education and healthcare, he said people "push into the cheaper bus, pay fees to educate their children in private schools and then go to government hospitals because they do not have money."
With the remarks triggering a political controversy, John said on Tuesday that the media had misinterpreted his speech and maintained that he stood by every word.
"I stand by what I said. It was self-criticism. Rahul Gandhi understood the hardships faced by women here, but politicians, including me, failed to recognise them. You may interpret it in any manner you want. Let there be a controversy. I stand by what I said," he told reporters.
Rejecting allegations that he had insulted women, John said he had never suggested that beneficiaries of the Priyadarshini scheme were receiving charity.
"I never said women were receiving charity through the Priyadarshini scheme. It is their right. Public transport, public health, public education and free bus travel are all rights," he said.
Explaining his remarks further, the minister said, "What I meant was that even though women choose free public transport and depend on government hospitals for free treatment, they still strive to educate their children in fee-paying private schools. That reflects the aspirations of the working class."
Senior CPI(M) leaders P K Sreemathi and Suja Susan George strongly criticised the minister's remarks.
While Sreemathi said the comments amounted to an insult to women, George, in a Facebook post, questioned why John had forgotten the ideals he once espoused as an SFI leader.
"You taught me that society is responsible for women remaining poor. Mocking women, their lives, hardships, social exclusion and sacrifices in this manner is a serious mistake, especially when it comes from CP John," she said.
(With inputs from PTI)
