Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav kicked off fresh controversy with his comments on rape, saying while one man commits rape, four are named in cases to “settle scores”. He also commented that rape by four persons was not “practical”.

Similar shocker last year

This is not the first time that the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has made shocking comments on rape. While opposing capital punishment for rape last year, he had sparked outrage by saying: “ ladke, ladke hain...galti ho jati hai (boys will be boys...they commit mistakes).”

On Wednesday, the SP chief said there were instances where only one person committed rape but the victim named four people merely to “settle scores”. “Innocent persons must not be implicated and harassed. There are cases, where a victim has accused four brothers of raping her. It is not practical,” he said.

Yadav cited the alleged rape and murder case of two cousin sisters in Badaun stating that it was “blown out of proportion”.

“The CBI probed the case and found out that rape was not committed at all. They were cold-blooded murders by the victim’s cousins for property,” he said. Yadav’s comments triggered a row with the BJP saying that the remarks were an “insult” to women and raise questions over the decisions given by courts in gangrape cases.

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