Oppn targets Haryana CM over sex-ratio comments

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's reported comments about Kashmiri women has triggered a controversy and invited sharp criticism from political rivals ranging from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Khattar expressed concern over the skewed sex-ratio in Haryana and said that this had prompted party leaders to say that the males in the state will have to bring brides 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,” Khattar said.

His remarks drew flak from various quarters, with Rahul terming them “despicable” and targeted Khattar's “RSS training”.

“Haryana CM, Khattar's comment on Kashmiri women is despicable and shows what years of RSS training does to the mind of a weak, insecure and pathetic man,” Rahul said on Twitter.

“Women are not assets to be owned by men,” he said.

Mamata said that a person who holds such a high rank “must refrain” from passing such comments.

“We and more so people holding high public office, must restrain ourselves from making insensitive comments about the beloved people of Jammu and Kashmir. These are hurtful, not only for J&K, but the entire nation,” she said.

Reacting to the criticism, Khattar accused Rahul of reacting to distorted news.

"Dear Rahul Gandhi ji, at least at your level, you shouldn’t react on distorted news. I’m attaching the video of what I actually said, and in what context – this will give you clarity of mind,” Khattar said.

Addressing a function in Fatehabad on Friday, Khattar said Haryana had improved its sex ratio over the past few years.

“We’ve increased this (sex ratio) to 930+ per thousand men. Earlier, O P Dhankar used to say that we will have to bring girls from Bihar to fix the sex ratio, and some people are now saying that we can bring girls from Kashmir as well. Jokes apart – we may even exceed this ratio, but fixing the sex ratio is a subject that the state takes very seriously,” Khattar had said.