Spiritual leader Asaram Bapu yesterday said the 23-year-old rape victim did not do enough to save her dignity and life; claimed the drunken men were not the only ones guilty, the girl was also responsible for the horror that befell her
Godman Asaram Bapu yesterday provoked fury and criticism after suggesting that the medical student who was brutally raped by six men in a moving bus here on december 16 did not do enough to save herself.
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He said the victim should have called her attackers “brothers” and recited the Saraswati mantra to avert the tragedy.u00a0Speaking to a gathering of followers at Tonk town near Jaipur, Asaram said, “The five or six drunken men were not the only ones guilty. The girl was also responsible...”
Divine counsel: The godman said had the victim recited Saraswati mantra, she could have averted the tragedy. File Pic
He reportedly said, “The victim is as guilty as her rapists,” adding that one hand cannot clap. The victim should have “begged” in front of the culprits, he said.u00a0“She should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop. This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don’t think so,” said Asaram Bapu.u00a0“Had she recited the Saraswati mantra, she would not have boarded any bus after watching a movie with her boyfriend,” he said.
‘Withdraw statement’
This provoked both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP to lash out at the comments as disturbing and condemnable. “Such comments should be condemned as much as possible,” Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said. He was backed by party colleague Rashid Alvi, who said, “Political leaders, including religious leaders, must give serious thought before they speak out.”
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the comments were “regrettable and deeply disturbing and painful”. “We expect Asaram Bapuji to kindly introspect, reflect and withdraw the statement,” Prasad said.
“I am sure he knows in the Hindu chintan (thought), women of the country have been accorded a place of pride and dignity. Similarly in our Constitution also, there is a clear provision of granting a status of equality to women and allowing no discrimination. In this case, for him to make a statement in relation to a crime which has shocked the conscience of the country... Sorry, it is not acceptable,” he said.
‘Strict laws? Why?’
Asaram also said he was against stringent laws to prevent rape. “Laws can be misused. There are several examples of misuse of laws related to dowry harassment in our country. If the laws against cases of rape are misused, the men will be victims.”
He said he had written to the family of the Delhi gang rape victim. “They lost their daughter, they should consider me their son,” he said.u00a0The 23-year-old woman was gang raped in a moving bus in the national capital on the night of December 16, and brutally tortured. She died of her injuries on December 29 in a Singapore hospital, two days after she was taken there for treatment.
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