Chairperson Rekha Sharma of National Women’s Council joined a chorus of voices on Friday to slam Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar for his “rape” remark made in the state assembly.

“It is extremely sad and unfortunate that we still have a public representative who is misogynist and have a horrible mindset towards women,” said Sharma in a tweet.

The outrageous comment was made during a discussion on India’s farmers’ issue when Speaker of Assembly Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri asked how the session would be conducted if time was allotted to everyone.

“Whatever you decide - I will say yes. What I am thinking is that let us enjoy the situation. I can't control or regulate the system. My concern is about the business of the house, it has also to be covered," he had said, as reported by Indian news platform NDTV.

To this the congress MLA had said, “There is a saying that when rape is inevitable, lie down and enjoy it. That is exactly the position which you are in.”

His remark shocked many and triggered outrage on Twitter.

“This kind of thinking, personality and person will ruin our system,” tweeted a Indian Twitter user Bhavesh Sharma.

“The assembly turned into a disgusting locker room,” said Indian journalist Nidhi Suresh.

Questions were raised regarding women’s safety in the country.

In another tweet, the NCW chair called Kumar’s comment “really disgusting.”

The massive criticism forced the political leader to later apologise for his remark.

Kumar took to Twitter to clarify that his “intention was not trivialise or make light of the heinous crime, but an off-the-cut remark.”

The politician’s comments came at a time when number of rape cases in India is surging through the roof. According to the National Crime Records Bureau India, an average of 77 rape cases were reported daily in 2020.