Rape no mistake, it's a crime: Delhi gangrape victim's father

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh’s shocking remarks on rape , where he called it a mistake and tried to dismiss it saying it was just ‘boys will be boys who made mistakes’, has caused massive outrage. One of those who has offered his response was the father of the Delhi gangrape victim. In his  reaction to Mulayam’s statement , he said, “If a gang of people rapes a woman, it is not a mistake… it is a crime. Mulayam Singh considers himself a prime ministerial candidate. If people at such position speak like this, what will our nation come to?” Yadav had said in a Moradabad rally, “Boy and girl develop differences later on in the relationship, when that happens, the girl goes on gives a statement saying that she was raped… Now those three have been sentenced to death…Kya rape main phansi di jayegi (Will you hand out death sentences in rape)…Ladke hain galti ho jati hai (they are boys they make mistakes.) This kind of law should be changed and we will do that.” Not just the Delhi gangrape victim’s father but social activists have also condemned Mulayam Singh Yadav’s statement. Social activist Kiran Bedi said, “These statements call for total boycott of such a political leader. People should be asked to vote out such people completely. That is exactly the reason when such people in power do not deliver and society as a whole feels insecure. This statement is against the society and it is spreading lawlessness.” Ranjana Kumari, a noted activist on women’s rights, said, “Women of the country should not vote for his party whether it is in UP or somewhere else and he should be boycotted as a politician because he not only made these comments but also worked to stop women’s reservation bill.” [caption id=“attachment_1379027” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mulayam Singh Yadav in this file photo. PTI[/caption] She also said that the EC should take cognisance of Mulayam’s statement and an FIR must be lodged against him for “calling rape a small mistake is directly encouraging rape.” Noted lawyer Vrinda Grover said Mulayam was using the law to attack women’s rights. “Death penalty is an alibi for Mulayam Singh to attack the new law that recognises the integrity of woman’s body. Right from the beginning, he and his party were creating impediments in the way of stringent laws to protect women. His utterances support the view that women have no rights over their body and they are something of a plaything for males,” Grover said. She said the former chief minister’s utterances show how far behind he was of the present day youth. “It is incumbent upon the youth to ensure he is defeated in the election,” she added. Eminent Supreme Court counsel Kamini Jaiswal called it “unfortunate and insensitive”. “What Mulayam Singh has said is both ‘unfortunate and insensitive’. It is unfortunate that this was coming from a politician who is aspiring to be the prime minister of the country and his party having a national presence in the country’s polity,” said Jaiswal. “There are many who are not in favour of death sentence but it could not be used as a pretext to assail the law that secures the safety and security of women,” she said. With inputs from IANS and PTI