On uproar over rape law, Rajasthan CM says ‘I only said the truth’ - Hindustan Times
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On uproar over rape law, Rajasthan CM says ‘I only said the truth’

By | Edited by Sohini Goswami, New Delhi
Aug 07, 2022 07:51 PM IST

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the number of murders after rape have gone up over the past years and his statement only reveals the truth.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, in the eye of a storm over his remark on the law to hang rape accused, said he was only speaking the truth.

Gehlot said on Friday that ever since the law to hang rape accused came into force, incidents of murdering rape victims have increased across the country.(PTI file photo)
Gehlot said on Friday that ever since the law to hang rape accused came into force, incidents of murdering rape victims have increased across the country.(PTI file photo)

Gehlot said the number of murders after rape have gone up over the past years and his statement only reveals the truth. “I only spoke the truth. Whenever a rapist rapes a child, they then kill them for the fear of being identified… So many deaths have never happened before,” the veteran Congress leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

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On Friday, the Rajasthan chief minister said that ever since the law to hang rape accused came into force, incidents of murdering rape victims have increased across the country.

"Due to the law on the hanging of culprits after the Nirbhaya case (2012 Delhi gangrape case), the incidents of murder after rape have increased. This is a dangerous trend being seen in the country," he said during a demonstration by the Congress in Delhi against the Union government over price rise and unemployment.

"The rapist feels the victim will become a witness against the accused. In such a situation, the accused finds it right to kill the victim. The reports that are coming from all over the country show a very dangerous trend. The situation in the country is not good," Gehlot added.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan termed Gehlot's remark as unfortunate and shameful.

BJP's Rajendra Rathore, who is also the deputy leader of opposition in Rajasthan, cited the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics and police reports and said the western state ranked at the top in rape cases, with nearly 2,000 incidents (on an average) being reported every year.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla sought Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi's response to Gehlot's remark on the rape law.

Poonawalla said the Rajasthan chief minister was blaming the law, which was made stringent by under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) watch after the Delhi 2012 gang rape case, instead of blaming the rapists.

"In the past, Gehlot had said that most of the rape cases filed by SC women are fake and even blamed the crime on rising unemployment and price rise. He also cited the statements of Shantilal Dhariwal, a minister in the Gehlot government, who had said that Rajasthan was a 'mardon ka pradesh' (male’s state) while justifying why Rajasthan had become number one in rapes and women atrocities. He linked this to the rise in rapes in Rajasthan," the BJP spokesperson told ANI.

(With agency inputs)

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