"Beauty Causes Rape": Congress MLA Phool Singh Bharaiya’s Remark Triggers Political Storm in MP
The MLA was seen accompanying Mr. Gandhi in the latter’s tour to Indore
Bhopal: A new ‘rape theory’ floated by a Dalit Congress MLA of Madhya Pradesh, linking sexual assault against women to their beauty has kicked up a huge political row here with the ruling BJP calling it a ‘pervert mindset’.
Phool Singh Bharaiya, representing Bhander Assembly constituency in Datia district in Madhya Pradesh, said that a man can be distracted by the beauty of a woman and rape her.
He claimed that the highest number of incidents of sexual violence in India happen against the women belonging to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and other backward classes.
“What I mean is the theory of rape is that if a man sees an extremely beautiful girl while walking on the road his mind gets distracted. Then he rapes her”, the lawmaker said.
Bharaiya further claimed that some religious scriptures prescribe that rape of a woman belonging to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and other backward classes, will yield ‘teerth phal’ (fruit of pilgrimage) for a man who cannot go on pilgrimage.
“Having intercourse with women of certain castes will yield fruit of pilgrimage as some scriptures say”, he claimed.
He said that a man cannot get fruit of pilgrimage by sitting at home and by having intercourse with his wife and hence, as per the scriptures, he achieves the fruits of pilgrimage if he goes for intercourse with a woman of certain castes.
Hence, the man tries to catch a woman belonging to these castes in darkness to have intercourse with her for this.
He revealed his ‘rape theory’ while giving interview to a media outlet here, which went viral on social media on Saturday coinciding with the visit of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to Indore.
The MLA was seen accompanying Mr. Gandhi in the latter’s tour to Indore.
The lawmaker however failed to mention as to which religious scriptures have made such prescriptions.
He also refused to apologize for his comments despite facing criticism from several quarters, claiming that they were based on his reading of certain scriptures.
Chief minister Mohan Yadav castigated the MLA for making such ‘atrocious’ statements, calling it a ‘perverted mindset’.
“Rahul Gandhi should expel his MLA from the party to establish that he respects women. I condemn such remarks by the MLA”, he said.