South Indian actress Khushboo's remarks on premarital sex seem to have become the proverbial hot potato for women MPs with most too scared to comment, some criticising her outright and only very few defending her.

Khushboo has been under virulent attack in Tamil Nadu, where she is accused of hurting Tamil sentiment by her statement that premarital sex was okay if it was protected. Several defamation cases have been filed against her and prominent actress Suhasini Maniratnam who came out in her defence.

While the treatment meted out to the beleaguered actress, who was reduced to tears and made to apologise for her statement, provoked outrage amongst liberal circles, most women MPs spoke to were scared of joining Suhasini's ranks by supporting her outright.

They belonged to all parties and all levels of seniority in parliament.

So, senior Bharatiya Janata Party's Sushma Swaraj said she could not comment until she studied the issue. Her party colleague and vocal environmental activist Maneka Gandhi joined her as did women MPs from Tamil Nadu and newly elected Mumbai North-West MP Priya Dutt.

Some admitted frankly that they did not want to appear controversial and ruffle too many feathers.

"Sometimes you have to be hypocritical. I do not want to support Khushboo's views publicly as it will send a bad message," said one MP.

"I know that in this age of IT and communication revolution, sensitivities and sensibilities have undergone a major change. You have to accept certain bitter facts. What Khushboo said is right in that sense," the MP said on condition of anonymity.

Congress' Prema Cariappa and Krishna Tirath said they felt Khushboo's views were against Indian culture, but also expressed the view that the actress should not have been hounded.

"Our culture is different. There are some things we cannot copy from the west. As our society does not approve of premarital sex, it has to be done under cover. Khushboo should not have said it," Tirath said.

She, however, added: "It's her freedom to express her opinion. Why do you want to haunt her?"

Cariappa said: "Khushboo later explained that she was talking about safe sex, which is also very important."

BJP's Sumitra Mahajan was vociferously critical about the actress' remarks.

"An actress who is being worshipped by many teenagers should not have said what she did. She should have remembered that youngsters look up to her as a model and her comments would mislead them."

But there were also those who came out vociferously in Khushboo's defence.

The developments in Tamil Nadu have left prominent Congress leader Margarat Alva, for instance, fuming.

"The reaction to Khushboo's remarks was unbelievable. I cannot believe that women even now are being deprived of their rights to express their views. How long do these men think that they can suppress women? I'm appalled," Alva said, adding that she would have come out publicly in support of Khushboo had she not been hospitalised for a wrist surgery.

Renowned Gandhian and Rajya Sabha member Nirmala Deshpande agreed: "Why is society so biased against women? They always hunt those women who express their independent views."

Women's activist and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP Brinda Karat expressed her ire over judicial interference and the politicisation of the issue.

"I am surprised that the court has accepted the defamation case. There is no defamation case involved in this. It's absolutely wrong. It's her right to express her ideas," Karat said.

"It's outrageous. When women are raped in the daylight, where are these political parties?" she asked.

Where indeed!