Kaushal Kishore, India’s Minister of State for the
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, landed in controversy for his comments
on the Shraddha Walkar murder case. Kishore blamed live-in relationships for
incidents of the sort and said “educated girls” should not opt for live-in
relationships. The minister’s comments drew ire on social media.

“These incidents are happening with all those girls
who are well educated and think they are very frank and have the ability to
take decisions about their future,” the minister said.

Kishore went on to ask: “Why are they in live-in
relationships?”

“If they have to do so, there should be proper
registration for live-in relationships. If parents are not willing publicly for
such relationships, you should have a court marriage and then live together,”
the minister told News18.

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“The girls should take care as to why they are doing
so. Educated girls are responsible as both the father and mother has refused
the relationship. Educated girls should not get into such relationships,” the
minister said.

Shraddha Walkar, 26, was murdered on May 18 this year,
allegedly by her live-in partner Aftab Poonawala. Poonawala, 28, is accused of
strangling Shraddha to death and then chopping her body into several pieces and
throwing them around Delhi.

The grisly crime has made headlines since the police
discovered the incident earlier in November.

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The minister’s comments on live-in relationships drew
allegations of victim-blaming. Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena said, “Surprised
he didn’t say girls are responsible for being born in this nation. Shameless,
heartless and cruel, blame-the-woman-for-all problems mentality continues to
thrive,”

“If @PMOIndia really means what he says about women
Shakti then he must sack this Union Minister immediately. We the women have had
enough of carrying the burden of such patriarchal rubbish in the society,” the
member of Parliament said.