Karnataka Congress general secretary Kavitha Reddy has been issued with a notice for her recent statements targeting the party over the selection of candidates for the upcoming Legislative elections.
A few days back, KPCC general secretary Kavitha Reddy had called out the Congress party for ‘patriarchy’ and ‘injustice’ and for denying women candidates the opportunity to contest in the Legislative Council elections.
In response to her statements, the Karnataka Congress disciplinary action committee has issued a show-cause notice to general secretary Kavitha Reddy. The committee, headed by senior leader K Rahman Khan, said Reddy’s statements had caused embarrassment to the party. The party has asked her to respond within the next seven days.
I spoke for 50% of the population, for women representation in Kar Legislative Council in public platform, so hv bn issued notice by my Party via DAC, I will respond to the notice with same spirit like I always did like a TRUE Congresswoman. Thank u for all the support love 🥰😊 pic.twitter.com/8b92ZmQSzo
— Dr Kavitha Reddy #WeThe49Percent (@KavithaReddyKR) May 27, 2022
Following the notice, Kavitha Reddy confirmed that she has been issued notice by the Congress party and said she would respond to the notice with the same spirit as she always did as a ‘true Congresswoman’.
Kavitha Reddy lashes out at Congress party
In a video put out by Kavitha Reddy on Monday, she had lashed out at the party, saying, “Social justice is irrelevant and incomplete without gender justice in political representation”. She had asked why women did not get as many opportunities as men and questioned the party leadership for not allowing them to grow.
Reddy also took to Facebook to state, “All men who get MLA/MP ticket will not win, so winnability question is ONLY for women? Men with all resources also have lost elections, but the question on resources is ONLY for women? Social justice is irrelevant/incomplete without Gender justice! (sic)”
Anekal | When men get so many opportunities why not women? Don’t they represent leadership in Congress party? When women are not given an opportunity how do you expect them to grow? Hope correction will be done: Karnataka Cong leader Kavitha Reddy said in a self-made video pic.twitter.com/0xRX56JM86
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2022
She had asked why was Indian National Congress ignoring 50 per cent of the population, adding whether there was any representation for women in our Assembly, Council, or Parliament at all.
“For the 3rd time in a row, the Karnataka Congress has not given women representation in the legislative council. Even the seats which the women leaders vacated were given to the male leaders. There are very few opportunities in Congress for independent women. Tickets go to someone’s wife, widow, daughter, sister, or relative. Such people don’t speak for women because they come from patriarchy,” the Congress leader had lamented.
The elections for the Karnataka Legislative Council are scheduled to take place on June 3. Seven members retire from the upper house as their term ends on June 14.
Kavitha Reddy had earlier heckled an actress and a journalist
Interestingly, Kavitha Reddy, who is now vocal about women’s rights and their political representation, courted a massive controversy after openly indulging in acts of moral policing and attacking Kannada actress Samyuktha Hegde for her alleged ‘indecent behaviour’ in the public place.
In September 2020, a mob led by Congress party leader Kavitha Reddy had physically attacked a budding Kannada actress Samyuktha Hegde and her friends at Agara lake premises over allegations of ‘indecent behaviour’ at a public place. The actress and her friends were working out at the park near the lake when the Congress leader Reddy and her mob approached them and began to abuse and attack them. The contention of the mob was that the actress was dancing at the park by wearing an indecent dress.
Kavitha Reddy had also heckled journalist Mahesh Vikram Hegde at Mangaluru airport in January 2020 at Mangaluru airport. The Congress leader had joined hands with far-left activist Amulya Leona to heckle journalist Mahesh Vikram Hegde publicly.
Reddy, along with anti-CAA ‘protestors Najma Nazeer and Amulya Leona, had confronted Mahesh Hegde and coerced him to sing “Vande Mataram” to prove his patriotism for the country.
Kavitha Reddy, who had apparently led the heckling mob, had absurdly asked the journalist whether he knew the time when Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Congress leader Kavitha Reddy is also known to have links with far-left activist Amulya Leona, who is booked under sedition charges after raising slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in an anti-CAA rally.
