Women’s panel summons Ashutosh for defending AAP minister sacked over sex clip

The National Commission for Women has summoned Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ashutosh for his controversial blog in which he had defended sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar over an “objectionable” CD, saying it was a “consensual” act and that he had done no wrong.

“We have asked him to come on September 8. This is in response to what we feel is a very reprehensible and demeaning blog Ashutosh wrote, where he defended a man accused of rape,” NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said.

“...The Commission has taken a note in the larger interest because we feel that as a spokesperson of a party that governs Delhi and a party whose members have been accused of many incidents of violence against women he should not be writing a blog like this which reeks of patriarchy and misogyny,” she said.

Read: Ex-AAP minister Sandeep Kumar’s secy held for ‘circulating’ sex clip

The NCW chairperson also said Ashutosh jumped the gun in terming the incident as an act among two consenting adults when a criminal investigation is underway.

“Why did he jump the gun. The police had taken cognizance immediately and there was no shroud on what action the police had taken. Jumping the gun is also a sign of patriarchy in our country. This is not a blog especially the spokesperson of a party, whose minister committed the crime, should be allowed to get away with,” Kumaramangalam said.

“...also, Ashutosh says that because Mao Zedong did it, it’s okay. Because other people did it, it’s okay. When you are in public life there are standards of rectitude that everybody is supposed to adhere to, man or woman,” she said.

In his blog on NDTV website Ashutosh had written, “This video encompasses pictures of a man and woman indulging in a sexual act. The video clearly establishes that both individuals knew each other and consented to sex in a private space away from the public glare. The question then is that if two consenting adults are physically involved with each other, is it a crime?”

Kumar was arrested on Saturday night after a woman seen in a video with him in a “compromising position” complained that she had been drugged and raped a year ago.