Uttar Pradesh: SP Leader Dismisses Congress MLA's 'rape Theory', Sparks Controversy With 'testosterone Boost' Remark

Lucknow: Strongly criticising Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya’s controversial remarks on rape on Sunday, Samajwadi Party leader ST Hasan put forward his own theory on the causes of sexual violence. Dismissed what he termed a “rape theory” Hasan blamed online vulgar content and alcohol consumption for “uncontrolled sexual desires” among men.

What did the Samajwadi Party leader say?

“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 told the media.

Elaborating his argument, the Samajwadi Party leader went on to link sexual crimes to alcohol abuse. 

“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.

He also called for public execution of rapists to curb incidents of sexual assault.

 “We need strict laws to punish rapists. They should be shot at on a ‘chauraha’,” Hasan added.

How did Phool Singh Baraiya clarify his remarks?

Meanwhile, even as his controversial remarks on the causes of rape drew  growing backlash from across the political spectrum, Phool Singh Baraiya sought to issue a clarification. The Congress MLA claimed that the statement being attributed to him was not his personal opinion and 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 in a self-recorded video shared on social media platform Facebook.

How did the BJP react?

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also slammed Baraiya’s remarks and asserted that such statements should be avoided at all costs.

“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,” Chouhan said. 

“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.