Nitish Kumar was talking about sex education, nothing else: Deputy CM clarifies amid controversy
Nitish Kumar explained in the Assembly why education for women is important in controlling the population. Women's panel sought an apology for his comment.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has been accused of using derogatory language in the Assembly on Tuesday as he was explaining the role of education among women for population control. The video of Nitish Kumar explaining his point on population control went viral on social media and several Bihar women MLAs objected to the language used by the chief minister. Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said it is wrong to misinterpret Nitish Kumar's statement. "Let me clarify something. Whatever the chief minister was saying was about sex education. People become hesitant over this topic, but these are taught in schools -- in Science, Biology. Children learn this. He said what needs to be done practically to control the population. This should not be taken in a wrong manner, but as sex education," Tejashwi said.
Calling him ‘AslilNitish’, Bihar BJP on its X handle shared the video and said Indian politics has not seen an obscene leader like Nitish Kumar. “Nobody has ever seen an obscene leader like Nitish Kumar in Indian politics. It seems that Nitish Babu's mind is infested with the insect of "B" grade adult films. There should be a public ban on his double-meaning dialogues. It seems he is influenced by his company!,” the post said.
“The Chief Minister has crossed the age of 70 years and has made nonsensical remarks. He used a word that we cannot utter at all. All of us women will protest,” said BJP MLA Gayatri Devi.
MLC Nivedita Singh asked whether the state Assembly is a place for imparting sex education. “Assembly is not the place to take sex education classes. The chief minister became very practical in his explanation. There was no context to what he said. We all sat there to listen to Nitish Kumar on the caste census which we supported. But he changed the entire scenario and no word of condemnation is enough for Nitish Kumar,” the MLC said.
What did Nitish Kumar say?
"The husband's acts led to more births. However, with education, a woman knows how to restrain him... this is the reason the numbers (of births) are coming down...You, journalists also understand it well. Earlier it (fertility rate) was 4.3, but it has now reached 2.9. And, soon we will reach 2," Nitish Kumar explained.
Nitish Kumar's remarks crass: NCW seeks apology
The National Commission for Women demanded an immediate apology from Nitish Kumar for his comment and called it an affront to the dignity of the women. “NCW on behalf of every woman in this country demand an immediate and unequivocal apology from CM Nitish Kumar. His crass remarks in the Vidhan Sabha are an affront to the dignity and respect that every woman deserves. Such derogatory and cheap language used during his speech is a dark stain on our society. If a leader can make such comments so openly in a democracy, one can only imagine the horror the state must be enduring under his leadership. We stand firm against such behaviour and call for accountability,” the NCW said in a statement.
Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal condemned Nitish Kumar's ‘disgraceful' language and demanded an apology.
The Caste Survey report was tabled in the Bihar assembly on Tuesday which revealed that more than a third of families in Bihar have an income of ₹200 or less a day or a maximum monthly earnings of ₹6,000. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday announced his intent to raise quotas for Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state, saying legislation to the effect is likely to be brought in the ongoing assembly session.