Mumbai: Joining a long list of leaders who have made controversial remarks
following the Delhi gangrape incident, Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi today
said women should not go out with men other than relatives and agreed with RSS
chief Mohan Bhagwat’s view that most rapes take place in cities and not
villages.
“Women should not venture out with men who are not relatives,” Azmi, a member
of Maharashtra assembly, said here.
“What is the need for roaming at night with men who are not relatives? This
should be stopped,” he said.
The Samajwadi Party leader has been involved in multiple controversies over his
statements in the past. Screen grab from CNN IBN.
“Such incidents (like the Delhi
gang rape) happen due to influence of western culture,” Azmi said.
Scantily-clad women attract male attention, Azmi said adding rape cases are on
the rise due to “women wearing less clothes.”
Azmi agreed with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement on Bharat-India divide
when it comes incidents of rape and that “rape is a phenomenon that happens in
cities and not in villages”.
“The number of rape cases in villages are less (compared to cities),” he said.
Azmi said “I am 100 per cent of the opinion that there should be a legislation
to prevent outraging modesty of women”.
He said “if a girl goes with her consent with him (boy friend) to a hotel and
does not complain, then it is not an issue. But if the same girl goes with the
boy to the hotel and no one knows what happens inside…and if the girl comes out
and complains, he would be hanged,” Azmi said.
However, while the Samajwadi Party leader showed no signs of knowing of how
deep he had put his foot in his mouth, his daughter-in-law and actor Ayesha
Takia Azmi was quick to distance herself from his comments.
Taking to Twitter, she tweeted:
Comments made by anyone,even sumone close to me, when they regressive,, they do
not reflect my thoughts n mindset.
— Ayesha Takia Azmi (@Ayeshatakia) जनवरी 8, 2013
Im an individual n have my own mentality which doesn’t match any regressive way
of thinking at all!
— Ayesha Takia Azmi (@Ayeshatakia) जनवरी 8, 2013
(with inputs from PTI)