Mahila Congress acting president slams Karnataka Health Minister's remark that modern Indian women want to stay single

All India Mahila Congress acting president Netaa D'Souza on Tuesday slammed Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar's remarks that a lot of modern Indian women want to stay single and not give birth, saying that he should "get his mindset right."

Speaking to ANI, Netaa D'Souza claimed that the minister is showing the mindset of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its government. She also said that whatever way a woman would like to live her life, she should be allowed to do. "It's her right. That's her way of life," she said.

"I would like to request the concerned minister to set his mindset right. He has no authority to talk on behalf of women. This mindset is the mindset of the BJP. It talks volumes of the mindset of BJP and its government," D'Souza said.

Launching an attack on the BJP government over various issues, she also said, "Instead of getting to this level of politics, it would be better if BJP thinks of rising rates. It has become difficult for us to run our households. It would be better if they take care of our borders and petrol prices, and not be concerned about women's wombs."

Earlier, speaking at the programme organised by NIMHANS on World Mental Health Day which was also attended by Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Sudhakar had said, "I am sorry to say this, but lots of modern women in India want to stay single. Even if they get married, they don't want to give birth. They want surrogacy. So there is a paradigm shift in our thinking, which is not good."

Following the controversy after his comments, Dr Sudhakar on Monday issued a clarification and said that he did not have any intention to single out women.

"I would like to clarify that I had no intention to single out women nor did my words mean so. I urge everyone to go through the full speech," he said in a statement.

"First of all, I would like to convey that I am myself a proud father of a daughter and I am also a medical doctor by training. So I fully understand the sensitivities around women and also the mental health issues that concern us.... My intention was to send across the message on how our Indian family value system can address the mental health issues that we are facing today," he said.

( With inputs from ANI )

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