Rape is sometimes right, sometimes wrong: Madhya Pradesh minister Babulal Gaur

Bhopal: Striking a new controversy, Madhya Pradesh home minister Babulal Gaur said on Friday that no government can ensure rape is prevented and action can be taken only after the act.

“It is a social crime which depends on the man and the woman. It is sometimes right and sometimes wrong. Unless a complaint is filed, nothing happens,” he said.

“It is not possible for any government to ensure that rape is not committed. Action can be taken only after the act is done,” the minister said.

He said women should learn judo, karate to defend themselves. “Unless the person wants, no one can dare touch her. The item numbers in films create a bad environment,” he said.

The minister cited the instance of a Hindi movie actress who was kissed on the cheek by a leading Hollywood actor on stage in Delhi in 2007. The actress had seen nothing wrong with it, he said.

Reacting to Mr Gaur’s statement, Congress leader Manak Agarwal said that the minister has no right to continue in office. He said that by his statement, the minister had done nothing but given encouragement to would be rapists, he said, and the minister’s job is to provide protection to women and not to rapists.

Coming out in defence of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, he said they too cannot do anything to prevent rapes in UP.