Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stirred a controversy on Thursday (September 24, 2026) by making distasteful remarks on the floor of the state assembly. His remarks came during a discussion on the drought situation in Bengaluru, which he attributed to growing pressure on the city due to increasing population and rapid urbanisation.
Shivakumar claimed that legislators from other parts of the state moving to Bengaluru, marrying twice and settling there, are the reason for the increase in the population. “MLAs who come to Bangalore don’t go back. Whoever came has been married twice. One dozen such instances. I can give the list. I’ve 40 experiences; I can give you examples. No one leaves Bengaluru,” he claimed, without giving any names. He further claimed that he knew such legislators from districts like Dharwad and Dakshina Kannada.
"MLAs who come to Bengaluru don't leave, I know dozens who had second marriages and settled here" : Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar while talking about growing population & rapid urbanization in Bengaluru. pic.twitter.com/MA8Kg4Y45g
— Deepak Bopanna (@dpkBopanna) September 25, 2026
“Even lawyers who come to Bengaluru do not go back to their places of origin. That’s why the city’s population is like this,” he said, adding that the urban population had risen from 33 per cent to 47 per cent.
Shivakumar’s sexist statements triggered outrage from the BJP leaders. Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka criticised the same and asked him to reveal the names of the MLAs. Ashoka said that Shivakumar’s statement has cast suspicions who have settled in Bengaluru. “Now, there’s a sword hanging over every MLA who has come to Bengaluru from other parts of the state,” Ashoka said.
“I don’t know whether you’ll issue a white paper placing the state’s financial situation before the people. But please disclose the names of the legislators who’ve two marriages and maintain two households. Otherwise, there’s a possibility that the people of the state may look at all legislators with disgust or ridicule them,” expressed senior BJP lawmaker S Suresh Kumar
This is not the first time that a Congress leader has made such objectionable remarks. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently displayed a misogynistic mindset during a Congress event in Delhi. Gandhi, along with senior party leader Sandeep Dikshit, displayed sexist and misogynistic behaviour towards Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, while mocking PM Modi for his warm and cordial equation with her. Gandhi hugged Dikshit to take a dig at PM Modi’s gesture of welcoming foreign heads of state, which was followed by Dikshit’s sexist remark, “Did you hug me thinking I am Meloni?”
In 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress National Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate posted a sexist slur targeting the then BJP candidate from MP, Kangana Ranaut. In a post on Instagram, which was later deleted, Congress National Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate asked, “Kya bhav chal raha hai Mandi me koi batayega? (Will someone tell me what the rate system in Mandi is?)” with a picture showing Ranaut in a racy outfit.
In 2022, Congress leader Shanti Dhariwal, who was the Minister for Law and Legal Affairs, justified rape in the Rajasthan assembly by saying that it is a men’s state. “We are number one in rape; ismein koi do raai nahin (no doubt about that). Ab ye rape ke mamle mein kyun hain, kahin na kahin galti hai ye toh s**** (now why we are number one, it is a fault somewhere),”
Dhariwal said. “Rajasthan toh mardon ka pradesh raha hai yaar, ab uska kya karein (Rajasthan has been a state of men; what to do about that),” he added as some MLAs burst into laughter.
