Mulayam under fire for defending rapists

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has invited the wrath of political parties and women and social activists alike for defending rapists and questioning capital punishment to the convicts.

Congress slammed Yadav saying these were unfortunate. "It is unfortunate that any leader makes such a statement regarding a crime like rape. Such statements encourage persons involved in such crimes," Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said the comment smacked of Yadav playing "minority politics" in the backdrop of recent Muzaffarnagar riots in which many women were allegedly raped.

"Mulayam Singh Yadav must have thought of playing minority politics in Nirbhaya case also," he said, adding there was no law which provides for death sentence to juveniles and under the Juvenile Act, they are released in three years for these offences.

"Shameless justification of #rape by #Mulayam Singh Yadav for vote bank politics. EC must take suo-motto action," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar tweeted.

Delhi gangrape victims's father too reacted on Yadav's statement and termed it as vote bank politics. "It is shocking to hear such statements from political leaders. These people should never come to power. It is because of them that women in India are not safe,"

Social activist Kiran Bedi said, "These statements call for total boycott of such a political leader. People should be asked to vote out such people completely."

"That is exactly the reason when such people in power do not deliver and society as a whole feels insecure. This statement is against the society and it is spreading lawlessness," she said.

Noted activist on women issues Ranjana Kumari demanded Yadav's arrest in the light of these remarks. "Women of the country should not vote for his party whether it is in UP or somewhere else and he should be boycotted as a politician because he not only made these comments but also worked to stop women's reservation bill," she said.

She said the EC should take cognisance of it and an FIR must be lodged against him for making such a statement as "calling rape a small mistake is directly encouraging rape."

Former Chairman of National Commission for Women Poornima Advani said, "Public apology is the least. The Election Commission should take up this matter. This is a negative and useless election stunt which is going to hit him hard. And, I am sure he will be voted out."

However, UP CM and Mulayam's son Akhilesh Yadav refused to comment on the matter and blamed the TV and media for playing his statement of out context. "I won't comment on that. I don't known in what perspective he has said that. It's the generation of TV channels, you don't know how it will be played out.We all want serious action on all the sensitive matters. but I don't know in what context he has said this," he said.

Mulayam at a rally in Moradabad, also added that rapists do not deserve the death penalty and if the Samajwadi Party comes to power, he will scrap death penalty for repeat rape offenders.