The Samajwadi Party leader said women should stop wearing revealing clothes to prevent rapes. (File)
In a statement not new to the Samajwadi Party, its general secretary Ramashankar Vidyarthi on Monday said that women should wear stop wearing revealing clothes to prevent incidents of sexual assault. He also went on to claim that "mobile phones and internet are the reasons behind increasing cases of rape and molestation in the country".
"Minor boys and girls should be barred from using mobile phones and Internet keeping in view the rising number of incidents of rape in the country," he said.
"For preventing rapes, vulgarity should stop. We should also try to develop a brother-sister bond among youths," Mr Vidyarthi added.
This kind of a statement is not the first from a Samajwadi Party leader. Following reports of a string of sexual assault of women during New Year's Eve celebrations in Bangalore last year, party leader Abu Azmi had blamed the incident on late-night partying by women in "half dresses".
Few years back, following several incidents of brutal gang-rapes, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was then the party supremo had said in what seemed to be a remark opposing capital punishment for rape, that "boys will be boys...they will make mistakes".
"First girls develop friendship with boys. They when differences occur, they level rape charges. Boys commit mistakes. Will they be hanged for rape," he had said.
(With inputs from PTI)