Rajasthan minister Shanti Dhariwal said he was ready to apologize after making a controversial statement by saying Rajasthan is at number one in rape cases because it is the state of men. He said the comment was a ‘slip of the tongue.’
“I’ve always respected women and encouraged them to participate in everything. It was a slip of the tongue. I wanted to say “iss Pradesh mein ye marz kahan se aa gaya” but ended up saying “ye mardon ka pradesh hai”. I’ll apologize in the House,” Dhariwal said, according to news agency ANI.
While speaking in the Rajasthan Assembly on Wednesday, the minister for law and legal affairs said, “Rajasthan is a man’s state. We are at number one in rape cases. There’s no doubt. Why is it so… Rajasthan has been the state of men. What can we do about it?.
Shanti Dhariwal’s rape comment comes just a day after international women’s day, stroking controversy with Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia and spokesperson Shehzad, including National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma condemning the minister.
“[The] Rajasthan government has ministers like these that’s why women of the state are suffering gruesome gender crimes and police just don’t do anything. How will women of the state feel safe if it has ministers like these? NCW India is taking strong action against Mr. Dhariwal,” Rekha said on Twitter.
