Phool Singh Baraiya | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Mon, 19 Jan 2026 13:08:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png Phool Singh Baraiya | SabrangIndia 32 32 MP: Beautiful woman ‘distracts, rape may follow’ says Cong MLA, outrage follows https://sabrangindia.in/mp-beautiful-woman-distracts-rape-may-follow-says-cong-mla-outrage-follows/ Mon, 19 Jan 2026 13:08:14 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=45528 Intemperate and insensitive remarks by Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya on women, rape and women from Dalit and Adivasi communities have left the Congress shame-faced on the eve of LoP Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the state

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]]> Bhopal : Outrage broke out after Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh (MP) Phool Singh Baraiya made intemperate remarks on Friday, January 16 to the effect that, on seeing a beautiful woman “one can get distracted and rape may follow”. The MLA went further, when in an appalling manner he said that women from the SC, ST and OBC communities are “not beautiful” but were raped because of what he believed was mentioned in the scriptures.
Immediately, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav demanded an apology from Congress MP and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for Baraiya’s abhorrent characterisation of women. Yadav said the next day, Saturday, “Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is coming today. And Phool Singh Baraiya has given a statement to spread venom in society. I expect Rahul Gandhi to talk tough to his MLA, suspend him before eventually expelling him from the party to send across a larger message — that Congress respects all sections of society. I condemn this statement made by Phool Singh Baraiya. Being a public representative, I hope he will refrain from making such comments again.”

Speaking to the media, as reported in The Times of India, Baraiya had proffered a self-propounded, twisted “theory” on why infant girls aged 4 to 10 months were victims of sexual crimes. “In India, the maximum number of rapes are visited upon women from SC, ST and OBC categories. The theory of rape is, when a man, walking down the road, sees a beautiful, extremely beautiful woman, then his mind could be distracted, a rape may follow (sic),” he had said.

He had then asked: “Are there any extremely beautiful women among SCs, STs and OBCs? Why then are they raped? Because such instructions are given in our religious scripts… It has been mentioned that if you have intimacy with women of these castes then it is the same as going on apilgrimage.”

Left shame-faced, Congress went on the defensive. Party state president Jitu Patwari was forced to issue a statement on Saturday evening saying a criminal who rapes women has no caste or religion. He is simply a criminal who deserves harshest punishment under law … What Phool Singh Baraiya said is his personal opinion. Congress does not agree with it. He has been asked to clarify his remark.”

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