Complaint against Mallikarjun Kharge's son for 'bribe and couch govt' remark
Aug 17, 2022
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 17 : The women's wing of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Karnataka State Women's Commission, seeking action against former minister and Congress MLA Priyank Kharge over his lewd remark that women seeking government jobs in the BJP-ruled state have to give sexual favours.
"MLA Priyank Kharge has spoken out against women during an event in Kalaburagi on August 12," Kushala Swamy, AAP's Bengaluru women's wing president, told reporters here.
"This is a bribe-based government (BJP) and young boys who want jobs and want to get a job, must pay a fee. He is making a sexist statement that girls must go to bed if they need work. This is a derogatory comment to job-seeking and employed women, and the Women's Commission should take strict action," she added.
Son of senior Congress party leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyank in a press conference last week, called the BJP-led Karnataka government as a bribe-couch government.
"This government has become a 'Lancha-Mancha Sarkar.' If a woman from Karnataka wants a job, she will have to get on to the couch (Mancha in Kannada) and men can land a job only by paying a bribe (Lancha), Priyank had said, referring to Ramesh Jarkiholi's resignation as Water Resources Minister, last year, for his alleged involvement in a sex-for-job scam.
Priyank's remark created a furor with the BJP government demanding an apology from the 43-year-old leader.
The AAP on Tuesday lashed out at the opposition parties in the state, with their women wing's president saying, "it is not new for leaders of BJP, Congress and JD(S) to make derogatory statements for their political benefits."
"However, Priyank, who belongs to a political family that has played a key role in the state's political history, has made this statement that has put a black mark on all women who have applied for government jobs," she said.