“Many crimes against women happen within the confines of homes. Is it possible to have a policeman in every household? Crimes like rape have increased due to films, semi-nude photographs and an erosion in moral values.”
R. R. Patil, Maharashtra State Home Minister
“Rapes do not happen on purpose. Such incidents do not happen deliberately. These kind of incidents happen accidentally.”
Ramsevak Paikra, Home Minister of Chhattisgarh
“Harm can come on a person if the stars are in adverse positions. We have no answer to this, only an astrologer can predict rape.”
Nanki Ram Kanwar, Former Chhattisgarh Home Minister
“Boys and girls love each other, later they have differences, and the girl goes and gives a statement that she has been raped. And then the poor fellows are sentenced to death. Should rape cases lead to hanging? Boys are boys, they make mistakes.”
Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader
“Rape is a social crime which depends on men and women. Sometimes it is right, sometimes it is wrong. Until there is a complaint, nothing can happen. Unless the person wants, no one can dare touch her. The item numbers in films create a bad environment. Also foreign culture is not good for India. Women in foreign countries wear jeans and t-shirts, dance with other men and even drink liquor, but that is their culture. It is good for them, but not for India, where only our traditions and culture are OK. Let women consider what is good and bad for them.”
Babu Lal Gaur, BJP veteran leader
“Vulgarity, obscenity and violence shown on TV channels are to blame for the multiple incidents of rape and assault in UP. In many places, when the relationship between girls and boys come out in open, it is termed as rape.”
Ram Gopal Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader
“If you keep petrol and fire together then it will burn. There should be a law to ensure that there should be no ‘nangapan’ (nudity). Those who wear less clothes should also be banned. Fashion and nudity are responsible for the current situation in India. And in rural India, girls don’t go searching out for boyfriends. I support death penalty for the Delhi rapists but there should also be a law that women should not wear less clothes and roam around with boys who are not their relatives. What is the need for roaming at night with men who are not relatives? This should be stopped.”
Abu Asim Azmi, Samajwadi Party leader
“To my understanding, consumption of fast food contributes to such incidents. Chowmein leads to hormonal imbalance evoking an urge to indulge in such acts.”
Jitendar Chattar, Leader of khap panchayat of Haryana
“The rape of grown up girls and women might be understandable, but if someone does this to an infant, it is a heinous crime and the offenders should be hanged.”
Ramesh Bais, BJP leader
“The meeting of ministers has resolved to introduce overcoats for girl students [so that men are not driven mad with lust], operate special buses for them and ban mobile phones in schools.”
T. Thiagarajan, Puducherry Education Minister
“The male companion of the murdered 23-year-old was wholly responsible for the incident as the unmarried couple should not have been on the streets at night. “Until today I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady. Even an underworld don would not like to touch a girl with respect.”
Manohar Lal Sharma, a lawyer who represented three of the Delhi gang-rape accused
“The Delhi gang-rape victim should have taken God’s name and could have held the hand of one of the men and said ‘I consider you as my brother’, and should have said to the other two ‘brother I am helpless, you are my brother, my religious brother.’ In other words, if she had begged for forgiveness and cited the fraternity of man and called to God for help, all would have been well.”
Asaram Bapu, self-proclaimed godman
