National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma on Wednesday lashed out at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for his remarks in the state assembly on the role of women in population growth on Tuesday, equating them with a “C-grade movie dialogue”.

Sharma held a press conference shortly after Nitish Kumar apologised for his remarks. “I apologise and I take back my words…,” Kumar said to reporters after BJP legislators did not allow him to enter the legislative assembly.

“The kind of statement he made in the assembly was like a dialogue from a C-grade film. This statement he made in the assembly is a message to all the women and in front of men,” she said.

Sharma said the worst part of Kumar’s statement was that male MLAs sitting in the assembly were laughing at it. She further said Bihar’s CM’s actions and gestures were almost like an ugly joke.

“The worst is this the Speaker hasn’t expunged them yet… The Bihar Assembly Speaker should take steps against him, his statements must be expunged,” she added.

Facing backlash, Kumar on Wednesday said, “If my words were wrong, then I apologise for that. If anyone got hurt by my words, I take them back.”

On Tuesday, speaking on the floor of the assembly during a debate on caste census, the Bihar chief minster said women should be educated as it would enable them to avoid sexual intercourse from resulting in pregnancy.

Kumar made the remarks to underline the need for girls’ education to check population growth. Kumar also said that the fertility rate of the state, which was earlier at 4.3 per cent, has now dropped to 2.9 per cent per a report last year.

Nitish Kumar’s remarks draw criticism

Kumar’s remarks drew outrage from the BJP, which demanded that he tender an unconditional apology.

In a scathing attack, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Kumar’s statement was “despicable, disgusting, atrocious, obnoxious and women virodhi”.

“The comments made by Nitish Kumar were despicable, disgusting, atrocious, obnoxious and women ‘virodhi’. It only shows the impact of the influence of RJD…If they think like this and speak like this in the assembly, imagine what the plight of the women in Bihar…Tejaswhi Yadav has justified the statement and said it is sex education. It only shows the level this alliance is following,” Poonawalla said in a video.

Union minister of state Nityanand Rai said the Bihar CM has lost his “mental stability.”

“It’s objectionable; Nitish Kumar has lost his mental stability the way he spoke about women. Tejashwi Yadav’s statement in its support is also objectionable. Nitish Kumar is no longer worthy of holding the position of CM. You have destroyed the culture of this country. He should apologise and detach himself from politics,” Rai said.

Defending Kumar, Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said it was wrong to misinterpret the remarks as he was talking about sex education.

“Let me tell you one thing. It is wrong if someone misinterprets it. The remarks of the CM were regarding sex education. People are hesitant whenever the topic of sex education is discussed. This is now taught in schools. Science and biology are taught in schools. Children learn it. He said what should be done practically to stop the increase in population. This should not be taken in a wrong manner. It should be taken as a sex education,” Yadav said on Tuesday evening.