'When rape is inevitable, enjoy it': Karnataka Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar during Assembly session
To everyone's surprise, the Karnataka legislators present in the Assembly did not react to the alarming words.
KR Ramesh Kumar, a senior Karnataka Congress lawmaker and former Karnataka Assembly Speaker, made a sexist and derogatory remark about rape in the state Assembly on Thursday. In the Assembly, Kumar said that 'there is a saying that when rape is inevitable, lie down and enjoy it.' He added that the Speaker was 'exactly in the same position' What was astonishing was that Kumar made a comment on the House floor, and Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, who was supposed to take action, laughed it off.
The senior Congress MLA's statement came as MLAs began to press Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri for time to debate farmers' problems in the Assembly. When the Speaker questioned how the Session would be run if everyone had equal time.
"I will agree to anything you decide. Let us take advantage of the circumstance, in my opinion. I can't manage or govern the system; my focus is for the house's work, which must also be covered," the members were informed by the Speaker.
Ramesh Kumar, a Congress MLA, responded with an insulting comment, and other members, including the Speaker, were seen and heard chuckling. Notably, Kumar previously served as Karnataka Assembly Speaker. To everyone's surprise, the Karnakata legislators present in the Assembly did not react to the alarming words.
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During his tenure as Speaker in 2019, Ramesh Kumar sparked a scandal by saying he felt like a "rape victim." He compared his circumstances to that of a rape victim. The rape, according to the leader, occurred only once. "It would have passed if you had left it at there. When you report a rape, the perpetrator gets imprisoned. But his attorneys want to know how it happened. When did it happen, and how many times did it happen? The rape occurs once, but you are raped 100 times in court. This is my situation," Congress's leader had stated.