Rajasthan Minister ready to apologise for shocking rape remark, calls it 'slip of tongue'
India Today
After his controversial rape remark, Rajasthan Minister Shanti Dhariwal said he would apologise for the same in the state assembly.
After stoking controversy by saying Rajasthan is at number one in rape cases because it is the state of men, minister Shanti Dhariwal said he was ready to apologise and that the comment was a 'slip of the tongue.'
He said, "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 apologise in the House."
"We are at number one in rape cases. There's no doubt. Why are we ahead in rape cases?... Rajasthan has been the state of men," Shanti Dhariwal had said while speaking in the Rajasthan Assembly.
As Dhariwal made this comment, some MLAs sitting in the assembly could be seen chuckling in a video shared by BJP national spokesperson Shehzad.
Shanti Dhariwal's rape comment sparked a controversy with Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia, spokesperson Shehzad and National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma condemning the minister.
Rekha Sharma tweeted, "[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."
