Haryana CM draws flak for remarks on Kashmiri women, says it is 'distorted new'

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has courted a controversy with his remarks that "some people are now saying that as Kashmir is open, brides will be brought from there".

Khattar was expressing concern over low sex ratio in Haryana at an event in Fatehabad on Friday when he made the remarks in an apparent reference to the scrapping of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution.

"Now some people say, Kashmir is open, they (brides) will be brought from there. But jokes apart, if (sex) ratio is improved, then there will be a right balance in society," he said.

His remarks drew flak from various quarters, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi terming them "despicable".

Reacting to the criticism, the chief minister accused the media of "running a misleading and factless campaign" against him and shared on Twitter a full video of the event.

"Daughters are our pride. The daughters of entire country are our daughters," Khattar tweeted while clarifying his position.

He also attacked Rahul Gandhi and advised him not to react on "distorted news".

"Dear @RahulGandhi ji, at least at your level you shouldn't react on distorted news. I'm attaching a video of what I actually said, and in what context - this will give you clarity of mind," he tweeted.

At a state-level function in Fatehabad, Khattar had said,"Elders and youths will understand this thing that there can be problems if the number of girls is lesser than boys. Our (O P) Dhankarji had said that they (brides) will have to be brought from Bihar.

"Now some people say, Kashmir is open, they (brides) will be brought from there. But jokes apart, if (sex) ratio is improved, then there will be a right balance in society."
The CM further said, "The ratio of girls was 850 against per 1,000 boys. We made several programmes like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. Do you know Haryana was infamous for killing the girl child, but we ran a campaign and the gender ratio has improved from 850 to 933. It was a big work in the direction of bringing a change in society."
Reacting to the controversy, Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet, "Haryana CM Khattar's comment on Kashmir women is despicable and shows what years of RSS training does to the mind of a weak, insecure and pathetic man. Women are not asserts to be owned by men."