10 Shocking Remarks Indian Politicians Made On Women's Safety That'll Leave Your Head Spinning

Opposition parties are coming down hard on BJP after the party confirmed that their Haryana state leader, Subhash Barala, will not resign from his post after his son Vikas was caught stalking and harassing Varnika Kundu in her car in Chandigarh.

This incident brought back memories from the past where Indian politicians brazenly uttered words of horror while addressing the issues of women misbehaviour and women safety in India.

1. G Parameshwara on Bengaluru molestations

PTI

"As I said, unfortunately what is happening is a large number of youngsters gather on days like New Year on Brigade Road, Commercial Street, M.G. Road. Youngsters who are almost like Westerners, they try to copy Westerners not only in mindset, but even the dressing. So some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kinds of things do happen," said G Parameshwara, Karnataka's Home Minister.

2. Abu Azmi on Bengaluru molestations

toi

Samajwadi Party (SP) Maharashtra chief Abu Azmi said, "Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. Ladies hailing from well-to-do families, be it from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan or UP, they come out in decent attire and mostly with their family members."

3. Mulayam Singh Yadav while opposing the new anti-rape law

pti

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "Handing death sentence for rape is not fair...boys make mistakes...there will be changes in the law if we come to power."

4. Mohan Bhagwat on how rapes occur in 'India', not 'Bharat'

pti

RSS Chief, Mohan Bhagwat said, "Crimes against women happening in urban India are shameful. It is a dangerous trend. But such crimes won't happen in 'Bharat' or the rural areas of the country. You go to villages and forests of the country and there will be no such incidents of gang-rape or sex crimes. Where 'Bharat' becomes 'India' with the influence of western culture, these type of incidents happen. The actual Indian values and culture should be established at every stratum of society where women are treated as 'mother'."

5. Om Prakasha Chautala on lowering the marriageable age for girls

pti

"We should learn from the past... specially in Mughal era, people used to marry their girls to save them from Mughal atrocities and currently a similar situation is arising in the state. I think that's the reason khap has taken such a decision and I support it," said former Haryana CM, Om Prakasha Chautala.

6. Babulal Gaur on rape as a social crime

bccl

"This is a social crime which depends on men and women. Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong," said Babulal Gaur from BJP.

7. Botsa Satyanarayana on Delhi's gang-rape

bccl

Former Congress minister, Botsa Satyanarayana said, "Just because India achieved freedom at midnight does not mean that women can venture out after dark. They should ensure that they do not board buses with few passengers."

8. Kailash Vijayvargiya on women's moral limit

bccl

Madhya Pradesh industry minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said, "There is a moral limit, which should not be breached, and if it is breached, one must understand that Ravana is watching and then Sita is bound to be abducted."

9. Vibha Rao on women being equally responsible for crimes against them

ani

"Women display their bodies and indulge in various obscene activities. Women are unaware of the kind of message (their actions) generate," said Vibha Rao, Chattisgarh State Women Chief.

10. Abhijit Mukherjee on women who protested Delhi's gang-rape

bccl

"What's basically happening in Delhi is a lot like Egypt or elsewhere, where there's something called the Pink Revolution, which has very little connection with ground realities. In India, staging candle-lit marches, going to discotheques - we did all this during our student life too, we were students too - I know every well what kind of character students should have. Those who claim to be students - I can see many beautiful women among them - highly dented-painted - they're giving interviews on TV, they've brought their children to show them the scenes. I have grave doubts whether they're students, because women of that age are generally not students," said Abhijit Mukherjee, MP West Bengal.

When we have politicians such as these ruling the states, across India, how can we expect the country to become safer for women?