Day after 'rape survivor' comment, Karnataka Speaker expunges remarks, seeks pardon from women lawmakers

Bengaluru: Facing disapproval from women lawmakers for comparing himself to a rape survivor , Karnataka Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar on Wednesday expunged his own remarks made in the House and sought pardon from them.

With his analogy Tuesday drawing criticism as being gender insensitive, the Speaker blamed the media for ‘hyping’ the issue “by adding masala” to his remarks.

After the women MLAs, including Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s wife Anitha Kumaraswamy, met him in his chamber and conveyed their disapproval, Kumar told the House that he had no intention to cause any pain to women members and that he considered them like as mothers and sisters.

“I’m directing my office to expunge all the comments made circumstantially from the records. I am clarifying that I had no intention to cause any pain to any woman from the Chair.

“…if anyone has felt so, kindly pardon me… all of you are like mothers and sisters. I have always respected you and continue to do so,” the Speaker said.

Kumar had made the controversial remarks during an intervention on discussions on Tuesday over a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into an audio clip featuring BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa in a purported conversation to lure a JD(S) MLA in his alleged attempt to topple the Congress-JDS government.

The Speaker’s remarks had evoked guffaw from the members.

Pointing to repeated reference to a charge against him in the audio that he had been “booked” for Rs 50 crore for a favourable ruling in case the ruling coalition MLAs resigned and the anti-defection law provisions are invoked against them, he had compared himself to a rape survivor having to undergo unabated questioning.

The chief minister has announced the SIT to probe the audio episode, on the “advice” of the Speaker to “establish the truth”, as his name has also been dragged with the charge that he had been “booked” for Rs 50 crore.

Besides Anitha Kumaraswamy, the other women MLAs who met the speaker are Anjali Nimbalkar, Roopa Kala Shashidhar, Kaneez Fatima, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Sowmya Reddy and Vinisha Niro.

They met Kumar after his comments and their silence on the issue drew criticism.

“Yesterday (Tuesday), during the proceeding, circumstantially I had spoken about the situation of a rape victim and even more insult the victim has to undergo during inquiry and reason why laws made are getting destroyed,” he said.

He said, “As I made this statement, few of them (MLAs) laughed and few in the media have termed it as causing disgrace to women. For the last two days, they (media) had not got any masala, they too have to lead their lives, so they are doing this.”

The Speaker said women MLAs came to him and said they had been conducting themselves respectfully in the House.

They said they were being questioned for remaining silent while others were laughing. “I understand their sentiments,” he said, adding that one can escape from the gallows but not from the media.

Earlier, speaking to the media, women MLAs cutting across party lines expressed their displeasure about the Speaker’s comment on Tuesday and said it could have been avoided.

BJP MLA Shashikala Jolle said: “His (Speaker) situation may be so because of the humiliation he is made to undergo because of repeated reference to charges, but the way it was put across was not right.”

Another BJP MLA Roopali Naik said the comments were not right and “it looked as though it (victims’ situation) was being taken lightly. Such comments should not have been made. We wanted to express displeasure immediately, but.”

Nominated member Vinisha Niro sought to defend the Speaker saying he was drawing a parallel to the ‘pain’ he had been undergoing. “He has complete respect for women, but he shouldn’t have made those comments,” she said.

Congress legislator Lakshmi Hebbalkar said, the Speaker did not intend to insult woman, “but this (comments) should not have happened.”

Hebbalkar’s lawmaker colleague Sowmya Reddy said, “I agree that the words shouldn’t have been used. Rapes don’t only happen to woman; even men get raped… Knowing him, I can say, he did not mean to hurt anybody.”