Instead of opposing the remarks or reminding Kumar about the use of unparliamentary words in the Assembly, the Speaker laughed it off.
Former Karnataka speaker and senior Congress MLA K R Ramesh Kumar has sparked a controversy with a sexist remark he made in the state assembly on Thursday as he said that “when rape is inevitable, lie down and enjoy”.
Many MLAs were anxious to speak during the discussions on rain and flood related damages highlighting the plight of people in their constituencies. Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri found himself in a fix as he was running short of time and wanted to wind up the discussion by 6 pm whereas the MLAs were insisting to extend the time.
“I am in a situation where I have to enjoy and say ‘yes, yes’. That’s it. This is what I feel. I should give up controlling the situation and take the proceedings in a systematic manner, I should tell everyone to continue your talks,” Kageri said laughing. He explained that his only grievance is that the business of the house is not happening.
Ramesh Kumar, a former minister, intervened and said, “See, there is a saying- when rape is inevitable, lie down and enjoy it. That’s exactly the position in which you are”.
Instead of opposing the remarks or reminding Kumar about the use of unparliamentary words in the Assembly, the Speaker laughed it off.
Later, replying to a tweet about the incident, Kumar apologised and said, “It was not my intention to trivialise or joke about ‘rape!’ My sincerest apologies if I have offended you. But the situation in the House has deteriorated so much that I used that analogy! Will choose my words carefully in the future.”
Notably, this is not the first time when Kumar, who is also a TV actor, has used such inappropriate remarks against women.
In February 2019, he had compared himself with a rape survivor during a discussion in the Assembly on the SIT probe into an audio clip controversy.
The audio clip was allegedly of BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa in a purported conversation to lure a JD(S) MLA in his alleged attempt to topple the then-Congress-JD(S) government. Kumar pointing to repeated reference to charges against him, and said his situation “was like that of a rape victim, as they too are supposedly questioned about the incident repeatedly”.
Financial Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Biz news and updates.