New Delhi: After Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) upped its ante against the Congress and questioned the silence of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Congress MLA K R Ramesh Kumar's "enjoy rape if it is inevitable" remarks in Karnataka Assembly, party's General Secretary in Uttar Pradesh reacted to the incident saying she "wholeheartedly condemns the incident".
"I wholeheartedly condemn the statement made earlier today by Sri. K.R.Ramesh Kumar. It is inexplicable how anyone can ever utter such words, they are indefensible. Rape is a heinous crime. Full stop," Priyanka Gandhi tweeted.
Priyanka's tweet came after Kumar's objectionable remarks caused a furore in political circles of the country with BJP, National Commission for Women (NCW) and even some women Congress MLAs taking umbrage at the statement made on the floor of the Assembly.
It all started during a debate in Karnataka Assembly on Thursday, when Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, laughing, said how he could run the session if every MLA was given time to speak, pointing out that the business of the House was not happening.
Kumar had then 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," remarks that prompted widespread criticism against him.
A day later, the Congress MLA apologised to the Speaker for his statement. The Speaker accepted Kumar's apology and appealed to the members, especially women MLAs, not to drag the matter further.
Earlier, Kumar in a tweet said, "I would like to express my sincere apologies to everyone for the indifferent and negligent comment I made in today's assembly about 'Rape!' My intention was not trivialise or make light of the heinous crime, but an off the cuff remark! I will choose my words carefully henceforth!"
Reacting to the incident, several Congress leaders including party President of Karnataka D Shivakumar said it is sad that such words have been uttered by a Congress MLA.
"As the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, I am deeply saddened that such words were uttered by a Congress MLA. To all the women of Karnataka, I am sorry and I will ensure words like these are never repeated," Shivakumar tweeted.
Several leaders of the BJP targeted the Congress' top leadership over the issue, with Union Minister Smriti Irani raising the matter in the Lok Sabha. The Congress MLA came under fire from various quarters including leaders and counterparts from his own party for his statement.