Congress calls out Kirron Kher for 'making light of serious matter'

Chandigarh : The Congress Party on Thursday slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kirron Kher for her remark on a Chandigarh gangrape victim that suggested victim-shaming on her part.

"I am amazed how she gave such a statement; it seems like a light take on a serious matter. This is a serious issue and it needs to be taken seriously. It should not have been brushed aside so lightly," Congress leader Pawan Bansal told ANI.

Bansal said the BJP MP should have talked about the measures taken by her to combat the problem instead of pointing out the victim's fault.

"Instead of saying that the girl should have not boarded the auto, she (Kher) needed to tell how she was going to make Chandigarh a safer place for women. Such statements diminish the seriousness of the issue," he said.

While appreciating the police for nabbing the culprits, Bansal also said, "That's not enough. Such cases should never happen."

He added that concerted actions should be taken to avert the problem, so that there was "fear of law in the minds of potential miscreants."

"I am not saying that the police should be posted at the inch of land, but security and safety should always be ensured," he stated.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Kher said the woman, who was allegedly gangraped by an autodriver and his two accomplices, should have applied common sense and not boarded the vehicle as three men were already sitting inside it.

Kher was alluding to an incident where a 21-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three men while returning home in an auto-rickshaw on November 17.