Political parties and organisations should refrain from sending across wrong messages on matters pertaining to gender justice and equality, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in the Assembly on Monday.
Mr. Vijayan made the call when replying to a question in the House on the action taken by ''the leadership of a prominent political party against its women members.''
The question, listed as second in the list of starred queries for the day, caused uproar with the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) alleging that it was politically motivated.
The Chief Minister said it is the government's wish that political parties and organisations would desist from misogynistic measures which convey wrong messages to the people. Despite the State making considerable progress in women empowerment, vestiges of patriarchal and anti-women attitudes still exist in the society, he said.
UDF members were up on their feet objecting to the question, allegedly a veiled reference to the action initiated against members of Haritha, the women's wing of the Muslim Students' Federation.
Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan demanded Speaker M.B. Rajesh to strike the question off the list. It dealt with the internal functioning of a political party and defied an earlier ruling by the Speaker. As such, it lacked precedent and violated the sanctity of the Question Hour, Mr. Satheesan said.
In a supplementary question, D.K. Murali of the CPI(M) asked whether members of any political party or students' organisation were involved in the case pertaining to misogynist remarks made against 'Haritha' members. The Chief Minister expressed his reluctance to comment on the matter stating that he did not have the official details with him.
The question, which was uploaded on September 25 on the Assembly website, was taken up as it had attracted no complaints, the Speaker clarified. Furthermore, the Chief Minister had replied to the question preserving the spirit of the Speaker's ruling, he said.
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