Kumaraswamy apologises for his ‘women going astray’ comment, hits back at Congress

He listed out instances where Congress leaders had made derogatory remarks against women

Janata Dal (Secular) State president H.D. Kumaraswamy addressing a press conference in Bengaluru on Monday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Insisting that he had not insulted women with his remark on guarantees, former Chief Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) candidate from Mandya Lok Sabha constituency H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday, however, tendered an apology “if his statements have hurt their feelings.”

“I have no ego hassle in expressing regret if my statements on women has hurt their feelings. If women Congress workers are hurt, I will apologise to them too. I have not done anything wrong and I will leave it to the people to decide,” he told presspersons here.

His apology over a statement made during an election rally at Turuvekere in Tumakuru had triggered a row with Karnataka State Women’s Commission chairperson stating that the body would issue a notice. During his attack on the Congress government’s guarantee schemes, he had said that women in rural areas “were going astray due to guarantees.”

Posers to Congress

Continuing his attack on Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Mr. Kumaraswamy pointed out instances of Congress leaders making derogatory comments on actors Hema Malini and Kangana Ranaut. “Is this how you respect and protect women? Have you (Mr. Shivakumar) forgotten the statement made by (former Speaker) K.R. Ramesh Kumar in the Assembly on rape? Did you not notice what your MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa said about women BJP candidate?” he asked.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said in justification of his statement on guarantees, “I have only warned the women that by giving ₹ 2,000, the government is pickpocketing ₹ 5,000 from their husbands pockets. I have said that women need to be financially empowered. When women had raised issues of arrack and lottery ruining their families, I banned them despite knowing that it would have financial implications on the exchequer.”

DKS hits back

Hitting back, Mr. Shivakumar said, “He is desperately criticising me because the women of the State have turned against him due to his derogatory statement against them. Congress is trying to make women self-reliant, while Mr. Kumaraswamy’s statement is a blot on society... He has run away from Ramanagara, and he will lose in Mandya too.”