A remark on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by an opposition MLA in the context of the NPR and a veiled reference to her counterpart in the state Pinarayi Vijayan triggered a gender debate in the Kerala Assembly on Thursday.
When IUML legislator K M Shaji, moved an adjournment motion seeking halting of census activities until concerns related to the National Population Register (NPR) were cleared, he made a reference to Banerjee.
"Look at West Bengal. A woman is ruling that state. ...She has shown enough spine and decided not to attend the meeting called by the Centre on NPR," Shaji said.
This led to a wave of protests from the treasury benches led by Health minister K K Shailaja and Agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar, who vociferously opposed to the reference to a woman heading the government there.
A visibly angry Shailaja, who is normally known to keep her cool, asked the IUML member "Even if a woman is heading the government there, what is the problem?