Patna: A minister in the ruling Janata Dal (United) government in Bihar has blamed smartphones as the main cause behind the surge in rape cases in the country and favoured a ban on them among school students, triggering protests from various quarters.
“Smartphones with internet facilities are the prime cause of increasing rape cases. Many schoolchildren have been watching blue films on them which pollute their mind. I myself caught two students watching porn on their mobile phones during a visit to a school,” Bihar’s minister for art, culture and youth affairs Binay Bihari told the media outside the state assembly today. Bihari, a Bhojpuri lyric writer who was elected as Independent in the state assembly was inducted as the minister in the JD-U government during its July cabinet expansion.
“Pay a visit to any school and you will find costly mobile phones in the hands of students in the higher classes,” the minister said adding he was giving suggestion to the Education Department to ban the use of mobile phones in schools. According to him, the students also exchange dirty SMSs on their phones. The minister added the mobile phones were even disturbing the proper conduct of House proceedings. “Even we can’t pay homage to the departed souls without interruption. The moment we close our eyes to pay them homage, the mobile phone with varieties of ring tones start ringing in. That is very bad,” the minister said.
He also blamed non-vegetarian foods and increasing wine culture for the surging rape cases saying intake of such food had changed the life style and destroyed the pious relationship in the family. Barely a quarter of century ago, the majority of people were vegetarian but today 80 per cent of them had turned to flesh-eating.
“Wine is also available aplenty. Some 70 per cent of the population is consuming liquor today and under their impact, they have forgotten relations in the society and also in the family,” the minister said.
However, his remarks have drawn strong protests from various quarters, including his own community, who described it as “obsolete” thinking. “Time has changed but some but the thinking of some people still remain unchanged. These people with narrow approach now want to put a ban on use of technology. Is it possible now? Never,” asked his party colleague and a ruling party lawmaker Neeta Chaudhary.
