Why did Twitter erupt over Narendra Modi's comment on speed of rape trials, what did he really say?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the speed with which rape cases are being tried has kicked up a twitter storm. This happened after news agency ANI put out a tweet quoting Modi as having said that rapists are now being “hanged within three days, seven days, 11 days and a month” under his administration.

“There used to be rapes in this country earlier too,”  ANI reported Modi  as having said. “It is a shame that we still hear about such cases. Now, culprits are hanged within three days, seven days, 11 days and a month. Steps are being taken continuously to get daughters justice and the results are evident.”

He was immediately attacked for mouthing blatant lies by activists and politicians.

The prime minister spoke in Hindi at the Youth Conclave on Wednesday. Here is exactly what he said (see video clip above): “Rapes were committed in this country earlier too. This social evil is such that we still hear about such incidents. Head hangs in shame; it hurts. But today faansi (death sentence) in three days, in seven days, in eleven days, in a month. We are taking steps to ensure justice to those daughters. And the results are visible.”

ANI translated this sentence thus:“There used to be rapes in this country earlier too. It is a shame that we still hear about such cases. Now, culprits are hanged within three days, seven days, 11 days and a month. Steps are being taken continuously to get daughters justice and the results are evident.”

The prime minister used the word faansi. Standing on its own, the word means “death by hanging”. But when it is accompanied with “sazaa” it means “death sentence” (faansi ki sazaa). At the first instance, Modi used the word faansi (and not faansi ki sazaa), ANI interpreted it as him referring to “death by hanging”.

But Modi’s follow up sentence, which is not part of the tweet that ANI put out, makes it clear that he was referring to “death sentence” and not to execution of the death sentence. Here’s what he said: “It is unfortunate that in this country TV channels run news about rape incidents for seven days, but allow news about death sentences (faansi ki sazaa ki khabar) to disappear without notice…” (See video clip above).

Read together, it is clear that the prime minister was referring to death sentence and not hanging.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in Surat. ANI

This was good grist for the opposition mills. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, National Conference party leader Omar Abdullah said he would “eat his hat” if the claim was true. “I hope someone from the @PMOIndia can furnish the nation with details of the rape cases that were tried in our courts and completed within 3/7/11 & 30 days. I’ll eat my hat if even one case fits PM _sahib’_s imaginary timeline,” Abdullah tweeted .

He followed it up with a suggestion to Modi to look into what happened to the culprits of the December 2012 gang rape and murder in Delhi . None of the five adults and one juvenile accused have been hanged for the crime.

“I’m not even getting into the blatant lie about rapists being executed for their crimes. Perhaps the PM should find out where the rapists guilty of the heinous December 2012 rape and murder are at the moment,” he further tweeted .

BJP leader Vijay Chauthaiwale, who posted a screenshot of an August, 2018, article on the Indian Express  which reported that a Madhya Pradesh court had sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping a six-year-old girl, after completing the trial in three working days.

“Dear Omar Abdullah, with regards to your challenge to show rape accused is convicted in 3 days, here is an example. Now I am even willing to sponsor this cowboy hat from http://Stetson.com  if you are ready to eat it in public anywhere in India. Ready to accept challenge?” Chauthaiwale tweeted , referring to Abdullah’s “eat my hat” comment.

But Abdullah continued the attack on Modi assuming he had spoken about “death by hanging”. “When the PM says “hanged” it’s not just the lower court. You don’t hang anyone without going through the entire process. Send me the hat anyway and I’ll hang it on my wall.”

Congress leader Shama Mohamed drew attention to the other rape cases that had grabbed national headlines, like the ones at Unnao and Kathua . She also said that years after the Delhi rape, none of the accused have been hanged.

The Unnao victim tried to set herself on fire because the govt refused to act.

BJP members openly supported kathua rapists.

Even after 5 years, not a single one of Nirbhaya's rapists has been hanged by the BJP govt.

How can PM #Modi lie so blatantly? https://t.co/sVShEnkrSj

— Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) January 31, 2019

Lawyer Karuna Nandy also pointed out how the prime minister’s claim could not be true and focused on the lack of data in this regard. “The PM can’t possibly know this, there has been no NCRB data since 2016. Aside from the fact that hanging doesn’t quell crime not a single culprit has been hanged within three days, 11 days or a month of his rape. So no, this is not true,” she tweeted .

Musician Vishal Dadlani too wrote that the claim appeared to be a lie and asked the prime minister not to use women as a rhetorical ploy before elections. “LIE! Name one rapist who has been hung in your term, Sir. Nirbhaya’s rapists, Asifa’s rapists, even Unnao child-rape-accused BJP MLA Sengar are still alive and well. Narendra Modi ji we know elections are near, but don’t turn the pain of Indian women and girls into propaganda,” he wrote.

In the end, it seems, Modi got panned for something he didn’t say because ANI lost it in translation.