CM Yadav condemns Congress MLA Baraiya's remarks on SC/ST women; says LoP Gandhi should take action

Bhopal, Jan 17 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, criticised senior Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya, who allegedly made a controversial statement claiming that some religious scriptures promote assault of women from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.

The controversy erupted after a short video clip surfaced on social media in which, Baraiya could be heard saying that, “certain religious scriptures suggest that assaulting women from ST/SC communities could grant spiritual merit equivalent to undertaking a pilgrimage.”

He didn’t mention the name of any particular religion, however, his alleged controversial comments have drawn sharp criticism for appearing to justify sexual violence and for making caste-based assertions.

Responding to Baraiya’s remark, Chief Minister Yadav said that he is a senior member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly and he should refrain from making such controversial statements against any religion or caste.

“Phool Singh Baraiya’s statement is condemnable. He is a senior MLA, I would advise him to refrain from making such statements,” Yadav said responding to the media's query on the politician's statement on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister hit out at the Opposition, claiming that the Congress has always created disruption in society. “Rahul Gandhi is in Madhya Pradesh today, and we expect that he will advise his party leaders not to disrupt social harmony,” Yadav said.

The Chief Minister further stated that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha (LoP) Rahul Gandhi should remove Phool Singh Baraiya from the party to show that he treats the people from all castes equally.

According to information, senior Congress leader Bairaiya, who is an MLA from Bhind, made the alleged controversial remarks during an interview with a local media channel recently, and a portion of that interview surfaced on social media on Friday.

In the video, Baraiya could be heard claiming that most rape cases in India occur among SC/ST communities and the Most Other Backward Classes (MOBC). He then advances a theory suggesting that sexual violence stems from distorted interpretations of religious teachings.

He claims that, “If a person is unable to visit a pilgrimage site, scriptures allegedly offer alternative options involving sexual relations with women of specific castes to attain spiritual rewards.”

Baraiya’s comments have caused embarrassment for the Congress, and more importantly, it came at a time when Rahul Gandhi was in Madhya Pradesh to meet the families affected by contamination of water in Indore’s Bhagirathpura on Saturday.

--IANS