Overview

• A video shows senior MLA R. V. Deshpande telling reporter Radha Hiregoudar, with a wink, that her childbirth would be arranged elsewhere when she asked about Joida’s lack of a hospital.
• Deshpande, a nine-term legislator and chair of Karnataka’s Administrative Reforms Commission, offered no commitment on the hospital and has not publicly apologised as of the latest reports.
• The BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) condemned the comment and demanded a formal apology, with the BJP’s women’s wing announcing a protest in Uttara Kannada.
• Media unions, including the Karnataka Union of Working Journalists, called the remark insulting to women and journalism and urged an immediate apology.
• Hiregoudar and her channel said they have sought an apology, while the incident revived the #NoHospitalNoVote campaign highlighting patients’ long trips to hubs like Mangaluru, Udupi, Belagavi and Hubballi-Dharwad.