DMK Rajya Sabha MP faces backlash for comparing citizen grievance to childbirth at public event in Tamil Nadu

TRICHY: DMK Rajya Sabha MP and Thanjavur North DMK district secretary S Kalyanasundaram stirred controversy after making a strange comparison between a citizen’s grievance and childbirth.
The remark was made on Friday during a ‘Kalaignar Kanavu Illam’ event in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, in the presence of higher education minister Govi Chezhian.
Referring to a complaint recorded at the district collectorate, the MP said, “A man who recently came to the collector’s office argued that there is no proper drinking water, no road, and no street lights in Kumbakonam. But not everything can happen immediately. Even after marriage, a child is born only after ten months. If a child is to be born before the wedding, it can only happen in a different way.”
As the minister seated next to him turned away, the MP added, “If you were in love and got pregnant early, the child may be born on the day of the marriage.”
Therefore, he said people should request it not slanderously and urged them to act with more respect so as to not reduce the interest of authorities intending to do good for the people.
“There is no law that requires us to build houses for you. But by knowing your needs and concerns, we are here to serve,” he said.
Speaking to TOI on Saturday, Kalyanasundaram sought to defend his comments, saying, “My statement was taken out of context. The point I was trying to make is that things do not happen instantly.”
This incident comes in the wake of outrage over forest minister K Ponmudy’s derogatory remarks about women and certain sects of Hinduism, which prompted chief minister M K Stalin to direct senior party members against making statements that could tarnish the govt's image.
Earlier this month, Kalyanasundaram was also embroiled in another controversy when a piece of paper containing instructions for journalists to ask only specific questions was circulated ahead of a press conference.