Amid an uproar by the Opposition MLAs over his remarks in the House, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal on Thursday tendered an apology saying it was a slip of tongue. The BJP, however, shouted slogans against him and demanded his resignation.
“It was a slip of tongue. I feel sorry for that. I wanted to say something for the desert state. I personally respect women and will continue to do so. If my comments have hurt anyone, I apologise,” Dhariwal said.
On Wednesday, he had made certain comments in his reply to the demand for grants to the police department, which Leader of the Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said were an insult to women, public and brave men. They were later expunged. Though Speaker CP Joshi asked Kataria not to raise the matter during the Question Hour, the Opposition continued its uproar and demanded Dhariwal’s resignation. The Speaker said Dhariwal had visited his chamber and had confessed that his comment was unintentional.
Dhariwal said: “We are number one in rape cases, what are reasons of these rape cases now? Somewhere there is a mistake.”
“Anyway, Rajasthan has been a men’s state, now what to do with it,” he added.
His remark made many ministers and Congress MLAs laugh. No one even interrupted Dhariwal, who was replying to a debate on the demands for grants of police and jails in the Assembly on Wednesday night.
Dhariwal said: “Look at the cases of rape, the figures of rape and rape with murder are different. Rajasthan is at number 11 in rape with murder. Uttar Pradesh is at number one in rape with murder. Madhya Pradesh is on two, Assam on three, Maharashtra at number four, Orissa at number five….”
“Rajasthan is at number one in the case of rape, there is no doubt about it. Uttar Pradesh is at number two, Madhya Pradesh at number three, Assam at number five and Haryana at number six. The wrong figures given by BJP regarding this have been rectified,” he added.
Despite repeated directions by the Speaker to maintain order in the House, the opposition continued to protest. RLP MLAs Pukhraj and Narayan Beniwal showed some papers during the protest, to which the Speaker raised objection saying no poster or banner or papers are allowed in the House. When his instruction was ignored, the Speaker directed marshals to evict both the MLAs from the House. Subsequently, the Speaker adjourned the House for one hour.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has written to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Assembly Speaker C P Joshi, seeking the suspension of a state minister for allegedly making an “irresponsible, condemnable misogynistic and chauvinist” statement on the floor of the House. Quoting a media report, the women’s body said minister Shanti Dhariwal associated a high number of rape cases in Rajasthan with the state “being a men’s state”.
NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma also wrote to the Assembly speaker and sought the suspension of Dhariwal, a cabinet minister in Rajasthan, from the House. “The Commission is seriously concerned about the irresponsible, condemnable misogynistic and chauvinist statement made by a Cabinet Minister on the floor of the House, therefore, I urge you to look into the matter and take stern action against the minister by suspending him from the House,” she said in the letter.
(With IANS Inputs)
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