Samajwadi Party leader ST Hasan strongly criticised Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya’s controversial remarks on rape, while making his own striking observations on the causes of sexual violence. Reacting to Baraiya’s statement, Hasan dismissed what he termed a “rape theory” and instead blamed online vulgar content and alcohol consumption for what he described as “uncontrolled sexual desires” among men. “I think the internet is a big reason behind this. The vulgarity on the internet gives a testosterone boost to young men, which makes them unable to control their sexual desires. During this, when a woman or a girl comes around them, she is raped,” Hasan said.
‘Alcohol destroys moral boundaries’
Doubling down on his argument, the Samajwadi Party leader further linked sexual crimes to alcohol abuse, making a remark that drew sharp attention. “The main reason behind this is alcohol. After alcohol consumption, a man forgets to differentiate between his wife and daughter. We have seen so many examples of this,” he said.
Calling for the harshest possible punishment, Hasan added, “We need strict laws to punish rapists. They should be shot at on a ‘chauraha’.”
Baraiya distances himself
Amid the growing backlash, Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya issued a clarification, asserting that the statement attributed to him was not his personal opinion. In a self-recorded video shared on Facebook, Baraiya said he had merely quoted a philosophical reference and did not endorse it.
“Greetings. The statement for which allegations are being made against me is not my own. That statement was written by Hari Mohan Jha, who was the Head of the Philosophy Department in Bihar, and I quoted it in a particular context. I do not personally agree with this statement, nor do I support it, but I quoted it only as a reference,” Baraiya said.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also weighed in, criticising Baraiya’s remarks and stressing that such statements should never be made.
Emphasising respect for women across all communities, Chouhan said:
“Daughters are like goddesses to me. We cannot divide daughters on the basis of caste or community. In our tradition, it is believed that daughters are the embodiment of Maa Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.” He added that society must not fragment itself further over such sensitive issues.
“So, whether it is a leader or any other person, daughters belong to every caste and community how much will we divide society, will we divide daughters too? Such inappropriate remarks should never be made,” he told reporters
