Delhi Mahila Cong holds protest against Khattar over remarks on Sonia Gandhi

The women's wing of the Delhi Congress on Monday held a protest against Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for his "deplorable" remarks against party president Sonia Gandhi and demanded an unconditional apology.

Raising slogans against Khattar, hundreds of workers of Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress (DPMC) participated in the protest here and burnt an effigy of the Haryana chief minister.

Sharmistha Mukherjee, Congress' national spokesperson and Delhi Congress president, called Khattar's remarks "disgraceful and shameful".

"Gandhi is not only the national president of Indian National Congress but also a highly respected woman leader of the country. The way he has spoken about her is highly condemnable and this is not first time that Khattar has given anti-women statements," she said.

"He has made many statements which clearly indicates his misogynist attitude towards women. If the chief minister of a state has this kind of mentality, then, how can we expect the woman empowerment and their safety in the state," added Mukherjee.

During Khattar's tenure, the crime against women has increased manifold, she claimed, adding that incidents of rape and kidnapping of women have increased by 45 and 100 per cent respectively in Haryana under the BJP rule.

"Our demand is that Khattar should render an unconditional apology to Gandhi and all women in the country," Mukherjee said.

All India Congress Committee spokesperson Supriya Srinate and leader Alka Lamba too participated in the protest that began at around 3 pm.

The protestors marched towards the BJP headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg but were stopped by the police few metres before the main gate of the office.