Kerala Congress president Mullappally Ramachandran has been booked by the Thiruvananthapuram Police for his controversial remark on rape survivors wherein he said that any self-respecting woman would die if raped.
His comments have sparked widespread criticism including from his own party leaders and was forced to tender an unconditional apology.
An FIR has been filed against Ramachandran under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including a section which deals with outraging the modesty of women.
"A case has been registered under sections 354 A (outraging the modesty of a woman) and 509 (insulting the modesty of any woman) of the IPC after the complaint was forwarded to us from the city police commissioner," news agency PTI quoted a police officer as saying.
Derogatory remarks
Addressing a Congress rally on November 1, Ramachandran said that women who have self-respect would die if raped, adding that they should at least ensure that they did not get violated again.
Referring to charges of rape against some Congress leaders levelled by the solar scam accused, he had said, "Every day, this woman would wake up saying she has been raped by someone. It's a desperate attempt by the (Left) to dress up a prostitute and make her stand behind the curtain and make her tell tales. This game will not work."
"One can understand when a woman is raped once. But what if she repeatedly says this. A woman with self-respect will either die by suicide after she is raped, or else try not to be sexually assaulted again," The News Minute quotes him as saying.
Apology
Ramachandran tendered an unconditional apology after being criticized for his remarks against rape victims, saying his statement was misinterpreted by certain persons.
The solar investment fraud case had rocked the Congress-led government in 2014. The accused in the case, a woman, had told the commission that she had traded sex for getting the approval of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government for her solar project.
After Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came into power in 2016, the Kerala Police registered a case and took up an investigation into the allegation of the alleged victim against several Congress leader, including former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
History of controversies
This is not the first time Ramachandran has made controversial comments against women.
In June this year, the Kerala Congress party president called state health minister KK Shailaja as "Covid Queen" and "Nipah princess", while criticising her handling of these diseases.
