’Stay away from live-in relationship, you may end up in 50 pieces’: UP Governor cautions girls

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel triggered a huge controversy after she asked the girls to stay away from ‘live-in’ relationships else they might be found in ’50 pieces’.

Speaking at the 47th Convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth at Varanasi on Thursday, Patel said that there have been many cases of ‘live-in’ relationships these days.

‘’Stay away from live-In relationship…..take decisions about your life carefully…..you must have seen girls in 50-50 pieces,’’ she said.

‘’I have been receiving such news for the past ten days…..why do our daughters do so?...it pains me,’’ Patel said.

The governor also said that she had met the girls who were victims of live-in relationships and found that every girl had a different story to tell.

She referred to her conversation with a judge and said that the latter had also expressed concern over the security of the daughters. ‘’The judge told me that an awareness campaign should be launched in the universities so that the girls do fall prey to live-in relationships,’’ she added.

The governor gave gold medals to 101 students during the ceremony.

Barely two days back, Patel, while speaking at another Convocation ceremony at a University in Ballia, had said that if one visited an orphanage, one could see the consequences of the live-in relationships.

‘’fifteen to 20 year old girls can be seen standing outside the orphanage carrying one year old children,’’ she said.

She said that the girls were taken to hotels and then sexually exploited and were abandoned thereafter. ‘’These are not our values but such things are happening,’’ she had said.

Earlier remarks on live-in relationships by well known Hindu seers Aniruddhacharya and Premananda Maharaj had triggered controversies with many women activists decrying their statements.