Just two days after Union minister Santosh Gangwar said that a "brouhaha" should not be created over one or two rape cases in a big country like India, another Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member has come in the line of fire for wading into the debate on violence against women and minor girls.
Uttar Pradesh's ruling BJP legislator Surendra Singh has said parents are responsible for the increasing incidents of rape and should not let their children roam around freely.
The legislator from Bairia in Ballia district, who had earlier made news when he said no one can rape a mother of three children, also advised parents not to give their children mobile phones.
“The parents of youths are responsible for growing incidents of rape as they do not take care of their wards”, the local BJP MLA told reporters in Ballia on 30 April.
"Children up to 15 years of age should be kept under strict vigil. It is the duty of parents to take care of their wards. But they allow their wards to roam around freely. This is the main reason for the social evil", he said.
Children should not be given undue freedom, he said, and asked parents not to give mobile phones to them.
The remarks come in the backdrop of outrage over the brutal gangrape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, and the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district, allegedly by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.
I am speaking from a psychological point of view; no one can rape a mother of three children. It is not possible, this is a conspiracy against him (Sengar).Surendra Singh while defending Sengar
Known for making contentious comments, he had also recently called West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee "Surpanakha", the sister of demon king Ravana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last month, directed his party's lawmakers not to make "irresponsible" statements. He said:
We commit mistakes and give masala to media. The moment we see a camera person, we jump to make a statement as if we are great social scientists or intellectuals. So this half-baked stuff is picked up. Then these ill-informed statements are used by media and the party’s image takes a beating.
(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit send.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)