Kerala Cong chief says 'Woman with self-respect will kill self if raped'; then apologises

In a shockingly misogynic comment, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullappally Ramachandran on Sunday, remarked that a 'rape victim will end her life, if she had self-respect', or prevent it from happening again. Addressing a public meeting in front of the secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, against the Pinarayi Vijayan government, he alleged that a particular woman (Saritha S Nair) - who was an accused in the 2013 solar scam - was 'a sex worker brought by the LDF govt', who was not to be trusted, as she claimed to be raped by multiple men. Ramachandran later apologised for his comment, at the end of his speech.

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Kerala Congress chief: 'A rape victim would end her life'

"Every day, this woman would wake up saying she has been raped by someone. No one can trust a woman like her. If you (Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan) think you can get an adulteress to target us, people of the state won't believe it. If someone says it happened once, it's understood, but she says everyone raped her. A woman with self-respect would end her life if raped or will try to prevent it from happening again," said Ramachandran. Reports state that the politician has previously made anti-woman comments against Health Minister K K Shailaja by referring to her as a 'Covid Queen' and a 'Nipah princess'.

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KK Shailaja: 'Deplorable comments'

Reacting to the comment, Kerala's Minister for Women and Child Development KK Shailaja went live on Facebook to condemn Ramachandran's comments. She said, "The comment made by KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran that the victims should die or else not allow another assault on them, is humiliating to the society. Most of us wish to save the girls and women and punish the attacker. Rapes do not happen because women are not careful, but because of the dominating nature of society.  It is condemnable that he made these deplorable comments."

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What is the Solar Scam?

As per reports, in 2013, solar firm partners -  Saritha S Nair along with her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan allegedly cheated a businessman named Sajad of Rs 40 lakhs as consultation fee in lieu of making him a partner in their project. The case took a political turn when the arrested accused - Saritha Nair - reportedly named then-CM Oomen Chandy and other top leaders in UDF as those who sought sexual favors from her in connection with the solar scam. Moreover, her call records had revealed calls made to  then CM’s staff members, and one such meeting, as per reports. While Chandy has refuted these allegations, the duo have been sentenced to a 3-year prison sentence.

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