Kaushal Kishore, India’s Union Minister of State for
Housing and Urban Affairs, landed in controversy after he questioned live-in relationships
in context of the Shraddha Walkar murder case. The Union Minister contended
live-in relationships lead to crime and called upon “educated girls” to abjure
such relationships. “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,” Kishore said.

“Why are they living 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
court marriage and then live together,” Kishore 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 had refused
the relationship. Educated girls should not get into such relationships,” the
minister said.

Kishore’s comments drew ire from several quarters.
Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted: “Surprised he didn’t say girls are
responsible for being born into this nation. Shameless, heartless and cruel,
blame-the-woman-for-all problems mentality continues to thrive.”

Who is Kaushal Kishore?

Kaushal Kishore was born on January 25, 1960 in Uttar
Pradesh’s Lucknow district. His father, Kallu Prasad, was a farmer, while his
mother, Parvati Devi, was a homemaker. Kishore belongs to the Scheduled Caste
Pasi community of the region.

Kishore did his intermediate education from Kali
Charan Inter College, Lucknow and then took admission at the CR Degree College
for a Bachelors degree. However, an illness in the family forced him to drop
out.

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Kaushal Kishore became an MLA in the Uttar Pradesh
Assembly for the first time in 2002 from Malihabad constituency. He went on to
serve as a minister in Mulayam Singh Yadav’s government. He was elected to the
Lok Sabha in 2014 and then again in 2019. On July 7, 2021, Kishore took oath as
the Union Minister of State for Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.