Bihar CM Nitish Kumar apologises after backlash for his controversial population control remarks

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Wednesday apologised for his controversial population control remarks in state Assembly.

“I apologise and I take back my word. They were not intended to hurt anybody. I have always maintained that education is necessary for population control. I have also stood for women empowerment and women’s development,” Kumar told reporters after he was not allowed to enter the legislative assembly by BJP legislators.

On Tuesday, Kumar stoked a controversy for his remarks in the Bihar Assembly, as he stressed upon the importance of education among women to control the population.

Kumar had put forward a vivid description in the Assembly of how an educated woman can stop her husband during sexual intercourse.

"The husband's acts led to more births. However, with education, a woman knows how to restrain him... this is the reason the numbers (of births) are coming down...You, journalists also understand it well. Earlier it (fertility rate) was 4.3, but it has now reached 2.9. And, soon we will reach 2," Kumar had explained.

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The National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma and Delhi's women's panel head Swati Maliwal slammed Kumar. Both had demanded an apology for the Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader for his comments about population control.

The NCW chairperson demanded an "unequivocal apology" from Nitish Kumar and said it was "on behalf of every country in this country".

"On behalf of every woman in this country, as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, I demand an immediate and unequivocal apology from the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar. His crass remarks in the Vidhan Sabha are an affront to the dignity and respect that every woman deserves. Such derogatory and cheap language used during his speech is a dark stain on our society," Rekha Sharma said.

"If a leader could make such comments so openly in a democracy, one can only imagine the horror the state must be enduring under his leadership. We stand firm against such behaviour and call for accountability," Sharma wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal had also sought an immediate apology from the Bihar Chief Minister.

"Strongly condemn the disgraceful language used by Bihar CM Shri Nitish Kumar while addressing the assembly. He must immediately apologise!" Maliwal said.

With inputs from agenices