Minister’s claim over sex attacks draws flak
Print Edition
AN Indian minister faced a severe backlash yesterday after he criticized women for dressing “like Westerners” at a New Year’s eve celebration where a mob allegedly carried out a series of sex assaults.
Although police have yet to charge anyone in connection with the violence on Saturday night in Bangalore, local media have carried testimony and photos of victims cowering from their attackers or fleeing for safety.
Police say they are now trawling through CCTV footage to see if they can identify any of the attackers. But a minister with responsibility for policing in the southern state of Karnataka, whose capital is Bangalore, said the “unfortunate” attacks were a consequence of women wearing Western clothing.
“A large number of youngsters gathered — youngsters who are almost like Westerners,” Karnataka’s Home Minister G Parameshwara told The Times Now television, speaking in English.
“They try to copy Westerners not only in mindset, but even the dressing, so some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kind of things do happen.”
Parameshwara, who later claimed to have been misquoted, was widely condemned for his televised comments, with the central government’s junior home minister Kiren Rijiju describing them as “irresponsible.”
“We can’t allow the shameful act of #MassMolestation go unpunished,” he said on Twitter, adding that women’s safety is a “must in a civilized society.”
Lalitha Kumaramangalam, who heads India’s National Commission for Women, said Parameshwara should resign over his comments.
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