Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s remark on rape cases fans row, BJP mounts attack

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan on Sunday termed “unfortunate” and “shameful” chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s recent remark that incidents of murder after rape have increased ever since a law to hang the rape accused came into force.

While Union minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, flayed Gehlot for making “controversial statements to hide failures”, deputy leader of opposition in Rajasthan Assembly, Rajendra Rathore, dared him to move a resolution against the law.

“On one hand, the party (Congress) gives slogans like ‘I am a girl, I can fight (Ladki hu, lad Sakti hu)’ and on the other hand, their chief ministers give such comments on the laws taken out for the safety of the girls,” Shekhawat said, referring to the Congress’s campaign during the Uttar Pradesh elections earlier this year.

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“He (Gehlot) should justify the statements he has made for hiding the failures of their government,” the Union minister said, demanding an explanation from the Congress on Gehlot’s comment.

The National Commission of Women should consider taking cognisance of the matter, Shekhawat said.

“The Rajasthan government’s only priority is to protect the seat, it is ignorant of the atrocities that have happened in the state for the last 3-3.5 years. It is more unfortunate that the government is making such controversial remarks to cover up its failures and indolence,” he said.

Gehlot on Friday was addressing reporters in Delhi during the Congress’s demonstration against the central government over price rise and unemployment when he made the remark.

“Today, unemployment is at its peak, along with inflation. Amid that, you see anti-social elements are flourishing. Crime is increasing everywhere in the country… all kinds of crime are increasing. Violence is happening in the name of religion and you know whose policy it is… clashes are happening over small issues, tension and violence are increasing in the name of religion,” Gehlot had said.

He continued: “... rapes are taking place and due to the law on the hanging of culprits after the Nirbhaya case, the incidents of murder after rape have increased. The rapist realised that the survivor can become a witness the next day, so they not only rape but also them. I am seeing this as a big trend in the country… it is a very dangerous trend.”

The Nirbhaya case pertains to the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedic student on a moving bus in south Delhi on the night of December 16, 2012. The four convicts were hanged to death in Tihar jail on march 20, 2020.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was subsequently passed in the aftermath of the incident, providing for stringent punishment, including death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12.

According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2020 data, Rajasthan ranks first in terms of rape cases followed by Uttar Pradesh.

Every year, around 2,000 rape cases are reported in Rajasthan, Rathore alleged.

“Between January 2020 and January 2022, 4,091 cases have been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” he said.

In the previous BJP-led government, a law was made for the provision of capital punishment for those accused of raping a minor, Rathore said. “Unfortunately, the mukhiya (chief minister), who has failed to curb incidents of rape is now opposing the provision of capital punishment,” he said.

“We will see if they have the courage to bring a resolution against this law in the assembly… then we will give a befitting reply to them,” he said.

(With agency inputs)