As the entire country continues to outrage over the brutal gangrape of a minor in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur, an elected parliamentarian from the state just made an extremely insensitive statement on the rising incidents of rape. At a public event in Damoh on Friday, Khandwa MP Nandkumar Singh Chauhan blamed smartphones and internet for the rising cases of rape.
“Due to easy access to the Internet and smartphones, youngsters can see obscene content on phones. This results in a negative impact on innocent minds and leads to perversity,” he said, reports PTI.
Chauhan also said that there are newspaper reports which have established that crimes against women were committed after the accused watched obscene content on mobile phones. He also added that it is impossible for the cyber cell of the police to control such content.
A representational image | Source: Indian Express
This isn’t the first time where Chauhan made an irresponsible statement while talking about rapes. He has even said that the rape and murder of a minor in J&K’s Kathua was masterminded by Pakistan.
While khap panchayats in Haryana and its nearby regions routinely issue diktats against the usage of mobile phones by women, politicians also indulge in the same to justify their statements.
In May, Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Surendra Singh blamed parents for encouraging crimes against women by giving mobile phones to children.
In July 2014, a Bihar minister had said that mobile phones and non-vegetarian food are to be blamed for the rising incidents of rape. “I believe that youths use mobile phones to watch blue films. Youths do not surf internet to educate themselves but to watch pornography which encourages them to commit rape and molestation,” Vinay Bihari, who was then Bihar Minister for Art, Culture and Youth Affairs said, reports Daily Pioneer.
