Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar triggers row over comment on Kashmiri girls

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has triggered a controversy by commenting about Kashmiri girls after Article 370 of the Constitution was scrapped by the Centre.

The chief minister was addressing a State-level function of Maharishi Bhagirath Jayanti Samaroh at Fatehabad.

Talking about the progress Haryana has made in restoring the sex ratio balance in the state, Khattar said the ratio of girls per 1,000 boys has gone up from 850 to 933. But that's not enough, he said as the sex ratio is still not fixed.

"Earlier OP Dhankad would say we will bring girls from Bihar to marry into Haryana. Now some people are saying we will bring them from Kashmir but jokes aside, only after the sex ratio in our society is fixed, we can restore a balance," Khattar said.

The Indian government on Monday revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

This story has been edited after Manohar Lal Khattar was misquoted by news agency ANI claiming that he made the controversial remark on Kashmiri girls. We have edited the story after listening to his speech.

Also Read | Kashmir LIVE Updates: Russia asks India, Pakistan to take diplomatic means to resolve issues