The spate of shocking comments by politicians about women is possibly never going to get over. The usual suspects say retrograde comments about women and get away. Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said how could four men rape a woman, that's not practical. This shocking statement has grabbed headlines around the world. He then insisted that a smear campaign was being run against the party's government in UP. He even said the Badaun rape case "was blown out of proportion."
Boys are boys. They commit mistakes.
The SP politician insisted that in cases where only one person committed rape the victim named four people "merely to settle scores" as reported by Times Of India.
"Innocents must not be implicated and harassed. There are cases, where a victim has accused four brothers of raping her. It is not practical," he said making yet another controversial remark on the issue of rape incidents taking place in the country. What does he really mean by saying that while one person commits rape, four are named in the complaint even though rape by four persons is not `practically` possible?
How can four men rape a woman? Not practical! Says Mulayam Singh Yadav
"One commits rape and then four more are named. Kabhi aisa ho sakta hai kya? Aisa practical hi nahin hai. (Can such a thing happen? It is impractical)," said the Samajwadi Party supremo according to the DNA.
One commits rape and then four more are named. Kabhi aisa ho sakta hai kya?
He then went on to claim how UP was relatively safer than other states and claimed this entire talk about safety was only to tarnish their party's image. "Out of the total rape cases in the country, only two per cent were reported from the state. It is less than in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Some people are trying to tarnish the image of the SP government in the name of poor law and order in UP", he said.
Boys are boys. They commit mistakes.
Last year Mulayam had courted controversy over his remarks that there shouldn't be harsh punishment for rape. While speaking about four accused who were involved in sexually assaulting a journalist in Mumbai, he had said, "Boys are boys. They commit mistakes. But there shouldn't be a provision of harsh punishment."
Original Mulayam Picture Credit: Fortright