Priyank Kharge (left) and Rajkumar Patil Telkur
Bengaluru: The row over Congress legislator Priyank Kharge's 'job over bed' remark has taken an ugly turn after a BJP legislator attacked him with personal comments.
He later apologized for the same on Thursday after drawing severe criticisms and released a video apologizing for the comments.
As per reports, Kharge, who is also in charge of the media cell of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), on August 13 said that young women will have to go to bed and men will have to bribe to get government jobs in Karnataka. He had also demanded a probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into recruitment scams and the setting up of Fast Track Courts (FTC).
The statement stirred controversy and caused severe embarrassment to the ruling BJP.
In a counterattack, Rajkumar Patil Telkur, BJP MLA from north Karnataka while reacting to Kharge's comments, questioned whether his "sisters got the jobs in the same manner"?
Remarks by BJP MLA Telkur were slammed by Priyank Kharge supporters. They made direct phone calls to the BJP MLA questioning him on the remarks.
"This is not a personal comment. The sisters of Priyank Kharge are like my sisters. I have not dragged the family of Kharge into the issue. I have asked him to respect all Indian women. If I have hurt the feelings of Kharge and his supporters, I issue my apologies," he said in a video.
The ruling BJP asked Priyank Kharge to apologize to women for issuing demeaning statements about women who obtain posts with their intelligence and hard work. Kharge had also apologized for his comments.