As the MIC is enmeshed in discourse worryingly symptomatic of women in politics and inequality, its women’s chief has raised a bewildering conjecture: “Are Indian women fit to be elected representatives?”

Komala Krishnamoorthy, responding to The Malay Mail on media reports and concerns among MIC women leaders, past and present, that the party may not field women candidates in the 13th general election (GE13), declared: “Some women prefer to become senators instead of elected representatives simply because of the less work that comes with a senatorship.

mic elections 120908 campaigners “Senators do not have a constituency to serve, so there is no need for them to be on the ground round-the-clock to monitor problems in their areas or to engage with the people there.

“Many women in the party want to be active in politics but at the end of the day, they still want to have time for their personal lives. This factor makes the senatorship much more appealing”.

Komala’s remarks — that are bound to question her leadership and vex the community of senators — come barely a year after she advocated the active role of Indian women in politics, both at state and national levels.

Asked if women would make the cut as candidates in GE13, Komala acknowledged that there was a problem when it came to the mentality of her flock in being elected representatives.

In the same breath, Komala said she had proposed less than 10 names to party president G Palanivel as potential women candidates.

“We have been grooming them for the past 10 years,” she said.

‘Women’s wing not sidelined’

“These are women who are strong, driven and willing to serve the community at the expense of their personal lives. These are women who want to become elected representatives instead of senators.”

NONE Komala said she expected women to be given a chance to contest the one parliamentary and three state seats that were allocated to them by former MIC president S Samy Vellu ( left, in picture ) during the 2008 general election.

Of the four, only T Murukasvary emerged victor in the Tenggaroh state seat in Johor, defeating Shahar Abdullah of PAS by a majority of 8,233 votes.

Komala dismissed allegations by party insiders that the women’s wing was sidelined by Palanivel.

“These are baseless claims and it hurts to hear such allegations when we are constantly conducting activities for the betterment of women in the community,” she said.

In an immediate retort, the sole MIC woman senator Sivapakiam Aiyam Perumal took issue with Komala’s comments about senatorship preference over elected representative.

She said MIC women were not choosy when it came to responsibilities or positions.

Last Friday, Palanivel quashed rumours that no women candidates would be fielded in the coming general election and announced that the party would go into the polls with women.

He said: “Sometimes, a president has to make tough decisions. We want women from all walks of life, the young, the experienced, the ordinary. Every woman should be the voice of the party”.