RSS ideologue and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) independent director, S Gurumurthy, tweeted a rape joke on the Sabarimala issue on Wednesday, implying that he would rather have a rape accused man in the 800-year-old shrine than women.
Somebody sent this on WhatsApp
Quote:
???? Best solution to Shabarimala is to appoint Bishop Franco Mulakkal as Tantri.*Even ladies beyond 60 will be scared to come to Shabarimala!* ????— S Gurumurthy (@sgurumurthy) October 25, 2018
Gurumurthy’s ‘joke’ refers to the Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who has been accused of raping a nun in Kerala 13 times between 2014 to 2016.
Gurumurthy’s extremely offensive tweet has been condemned widely. Communist Party of India (Marxist) called out Gurumurthy and said that “Misogyny is RSS Tradition.”
Modi Govt appointee, RBI board director S Gurumurthy thinks making Rape Jokes is acceptable. This Misogyny is RSS tradition.
Modi Govt undermining the sanctity of every institution by stuffing them with the most regressive RSS Elements. https://t.co/y24FYk2Xpf— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) October 26, 2018
The Sabarimala temple, which opened on October 17 after the Supreme Court order, had witnessed a stand-off over the issue with violent ‘devotees’ preventing at least a dozen women in the ten to fifty age group from entering the shrine. Many women in this age group, including journalists were physically attacked by right-wing protestors.
Instead of apologising for promoting rape culture through his tweet, Gurumurthy said that it was in ‘jest’ and that he regards women highly, “in the Indian way”.
My this tweet which was in jest. Any one who knows me also know I have the highest regard for women, in the Indian way. Anyone who interprets my tweet contrary to its true intent misses its essence. Even remotely I never intended to hurt anyone. https://t.co/cZ1gaVcjmm
— S Gurumurthy (@sgurumurthy) October 25, 2018
Gurumurthy has previously tweeted that the Kerala floods were a result of women trying to enter the Sabarimala shrine. Modi government had appointed Gurumurthy on the RBI Board in August this year.