Farooq Abdullah says, We're scared of speaking to women now, keeping women secretaries

Asked whether he was blaming the fair sex, he said, "No, no, I am not blaming the girl. I am blaming society itself. The society has reached a stage where complaints are coming from the other side."

"Rapes should not take place. The number of girls has gone down. When a child is born we pray for a son. When a girl is born we cry," Abdullah said.

The comment came in for criticism and even his son Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said he should apologise.

The Union Minister then sought to wriggle out of controversy, "people are misunderstanding things and they are misquoting things in many ways."

"I feel terribly sorry that people are misunderstanding things and they are misquoting things in many ways. There is no question of anything to derogate. I feel time has come there must have justice and there must have 33 per cent reservation in the Parliament as quickly as possible," he said.

"If something goes wrong, I am sorry for that. I never meant it in the manner that people have taken it," he added.