These are sensitive times and the DGP of Andhra Pradesh seemed to have forgotten that for a moment. His off-the-cuff remark that atrocities against women can be attributed to ‘provocative’ dress sense among the fair sex caused an uproar.
Home Minister Chidambaram himself had to clarify in Delhi, “The police are not the ones who should decide what women must wear”.
But what exactly did the DGP say. Here is word for word.
“Rapes and murders are not strictly under the control of the police. I am telling you a frankly down-to-earth point. People are turning out to be more fashionable. Even in villages they are wearing salwar kameezes. All these provoke and this cannot be under the control of the police. So rapes increase or decrease…” the DGP said.
But the media jumped at the opportunity to corner the top cop, and he was forced to eat his own words. The DGP office by evening issued a clarification saying that their boss’s words were twisted.
Meanwhile, the women’s organizations cried foul and demanded an apology from the DGP. Asked to comment, film personality Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna gave a quotable quote. “Let the policemen wear dhoti to duty from tomorrow, and then talk about women’s dress code,” she reportedly said.
