Hours after Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar made a rape joke in the Karnataka State Assembly, political analyst Abdul Razack Khan sought to defend the former’s contentious remarks.
During a debate on the ‘Newshour’ programme of Times Now, Abdul was asked whether the Congress party would sack Ramesh Kumar for his rape joke. “Should the Congress party sack Ramesh Kumar,” asked host Navika Kumar. The political analyst went on to defend the Congress MLA. “You are questioning about Ramesh Kumar. Did he say anything wrong? If this was wrong, why did the Speaker not object to it?” Abdul brazened it out.
A miffed Navika Kumar interjected, “Are you saying this is not wrong? If you are raped, then, lie back and enjoy it. You are saying this is not wrong. What is not wrong? Is the statement not wrong or the Assembly not wrong? Is the fact that he is a lawmaker, not wrong? Is the fact that the Speaker is laughing, not wrong?”
#PunishThisMindset
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) December 16, 2021
‘Did he say anything wrong?’, asks @abdulrazackkhan over the ‘enjoy rape’ analogy made by Karnakata Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar.
#TheNewshour | @navikakumar | @TheNewshour pic.twitter.com/5fXm1a3wVU
“Ramesh Kumar is a 6th time MLA and a former Speaker,” Abdul continued his defence of the Congress MLA. “I am a first-time woman. And I cannot tolerate a lawmaker talking in this kind of language,” Navika Kumar snapped.
‘When rape is inevitable, enjoy it’: Karnataka Congress leader
On Thursday (December 16), Karnataka Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar sparked a controversy after he made a casual rape joke in the State Assembly. His comments came at the backdrop of the Speaker’s lament that there was no order in the House.
Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, the Speaker of Karnataka Vidhan Soudha, had said, “I have no objection to more members speaking about the subject, but my concern is that no other business can be conducted if we stick to one particular issue. My position is like a person who would enjoy something when it is inevitable.”
#WATCH| “…There’s a saying: When rape is inevitable, lie down&enjoy,” ex Karnataka Assembly Speaker & Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar said when Speaker Kageri, in response to MLAs request for extending question hour, said he couldn’t& legislators should ‘enjoy the situation’ (16.12) pic.twitter.com/hD1kRlUk0T
— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2021
He further added, “You know, Ramesh Kumar, I now feel that we should just enjoy the situation. I have decided to give up on trying to control and streamline this situation… I’ll just let them talk.” Kageri was miffed at the fact that the MLAs were talking over each other during a discussion on flooding and crop losses in Karnataka.”
Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar, however, chose to draw an analogy with the heinous crime of rape and asked the House Speaker to enjoy the lack of order in the Assembly. “There is a saying that when rape is inevitable, lie down and enjoy it,” he was heard as saying.
The Congress MLA broke into fits of laughter after making the contentious remarks. Instead of condemning the remarks by Kumar, House Speaker laughed along and refused to expunge the comments from the records.
Abdul Razack Khan had defended the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari
In October 2019, Abdul had said that the slain Hindu leader Kamlesh Tiwari deserved the brutal death at the hands of Islamists and that he would not condemn his killing. The horrific killing of Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari by Islamists has shaken the collective conscience of the society. The killing of Kamlesh Tiwari was even welcomed by some sections of Muslim societies, as they expressed their jubilation over his death on social media.
