Union Minister Kaushal Kishore on Thursday said live-in relationships are "giving rise to crime" and suggested that educated girls should not get into such relationships, remark that comes against the backdrop of the gruesome Mehrauli killing, prompting Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi to demand his resignation.
Chaturvedi urged Prime minister Narendra Modi to sack Kishore immediately from the Council of Ministers for his "blame-the-women" remark which she described as "heartless and cruel". Kishore is the Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs.
Kishore, while referring to the Shradha Walkar murder case, said educated girls are responsible for leaving parents for live-in relationships that lead to crime, and suggested that they should instead go for court marriage.
"It is the responsibility of girls also, as they leave their parents, who have reared them up for years, in one go. Why are they living in live-in relationships. If they have to do so, there should be proper registration for live-in relationships. If parents are not willing publicly for such relationships, you should have a court marriage and then live together.
"These incidents are happening with all those girls who are well educated and think they are very frank and have the ability to take decisions about their future. Such girls get embroiled in this. The girls should take care as to why they are doing so. Educated girls are responsible as both the father and mother had refused for the relationship. Educated girls should not get into such relationships," he told "News18" while referring to the Walkar murder case.
"What is this live-in relationship, this is giving rise to crime and it is a wrong thing and people are facing its consequences," the minister also said.
Shiv Sena MP Chaturvedi tweeted, "If @PMOIndia really means what he says about women Shakti then he must sack this Union Minister immediately. We the women have had enough of carrying the burden of such patriarchal rubbish in the society."
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Chaturvedi took to Twitter to say, "Surprised he didn’t say girls are responsible for being born into this nation. Shameless, heartless and cruel, blame-the-woman-for-all problems mentality continues to thrive."
Twenty-eight-year-old Poonawala allegedly strangled Walkar and sawed her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days past midnight.
Police said the couple used to have frequent arguments over financial issues and it is suspected that there was also a fight between them that resulted in Poonawala killing 27-year-old Walkar on the evening of May 18.