Seeing beautiful girls can be distracting and may lead to rape: Congress MLA

A major political controversy has erupted in Madhya Pradesh after Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya from the Bhander constituency made highly contentious statements during a media interaction, appearing to link rape incidents to women’s appearance and religious scriptures, while making derogatory references to women from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities.

In the remarks, widely circulated via video clips on social media, Baraiya stated: “Why do rapes happen? Beautiful girls can distract a man and rape can happen.” He elaborated that a man’s mind could become “disturbed” or “distracted” upon seeing a beautiful woman while walking on the road, potentially leading to such crimes.

Baraiya further claimed that rapes predominantly occur against women from SC, ST, and OBC groups, asserting these women are “not beautiful” — even questioning, in reference to Adivasi women, “Which Adivasi woman is beautiful?” — yet face sexual violence because certain scriptures allegedly promise spiritual merit (equivalent to a pilgrimage or “tirtha phal”) for such acts. He bizarrely tied this to group assaults and even cases involving infants, describing it as stemming from a “perverted mindset” influenced by distorted beliefs.

The comments have drawn sharp condemnation across political lines and from social organizations.

The BJP launched a fierce attack, with Union Minister and former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan calling the remarks “shameless,” “indecent,” and “painful,” insisting daughters are like goddesses and should not be divided by caste. He emphasized that such statements insult women and Indian values.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla shared photos of Baraiya with Rahul Gandhi, alleging top-level patronage in Congress. Madhya Pradesh BJP media-in-charge Ashish Usha Agarwal described the statement as a “confession of a sick, perverted, and criminal mindset,” not a slip of the tongue, and demanded an apology or expulsion.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav condemned the remarks and hoped Rahul Gandhi would instruct suspension and expulsion to show respect for society.