Thiruvananthapuram, Aug. 5 -- Kerala Transport Minister CP John drew flak on Tuesday for his remarks allegedly belittling women who avail free rides on state-run buses under the Priyadarshini scheme implemented by the UDF government in June. Speaking at a state conference of the Kerala Bus Transport Association, a trade union body of private buses, in Palakkad on Monday, the minister said that he was astonished by the behaviour of women in Kerala when it comes to their choices in public health, education and transport. "The behaviour that I don't understand is that a woman, who cannot afford a bus ticket and scrambles into the Priyadarshini buses for free rides, chooses to send her children to private schools which charge high fees," the minister said. He clarified on Tuesday, saying he only spoke about the "state of poverty of women". The opposition, however, slammed him. CPI leader Annie Raja said the minister must apologise. htc...