Updated 17 January 2026 at 13:33 IST
'Sanction Comes From Top': BJP Posts Photo Of Congress MLA Who Made Controversial 'Rape' Remarks, With Rahul Gandhi
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has posted a picture on X, in which Phool Singh Baraiya, who made such callous insensitive statement about rape, is seen with Rahul Gandhi, along with other top Congress leaders, indicating that he is in close association with the top leadership.
New Delhi: After Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya set off a political storm over his controversial statement where he seems to justify the act of rape, the BJP has now stepped up its attack saying that such “despicable comments” have been sanctioned by the top leaders in the grand old party. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has even gone ahead to post a picture on X, in which Baraiya is seen with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, along with other top Congress leaders.
“Shameful and shocking. The Congress MLA who made most despicable comments on women Hindu Astha and SC ST women is with Rahul Gandhi being patronised by him. So sanction for his comments comes from the top,” Poonawalla said in a post on X, while sharing the explosive photograph.
Earlier in the day, Poonawalla had even hit out at the Congress leadership asking, “Where is Priyanka Vadra? Does she accept this rubbish,” mentioning that attacking the faith of Hindus and women seems to have become the trademark of the Congress.
The deeply unsettling statements from the Congress MLA also received sharp rebuke from BJP's Madhya Pradesh Media-in-charge Ashish Usha Agarwal who said that Baraiya's statement reflects a “sick, perverted, and criminal mindset” and is a confession of criminal mentality.
“Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya's statement is not a mere slip of the tongue, but a public display of sick, perverted, and criminal mindset. Weighing women on the scale of “beauty” and calling heinous crimes like rape against women from SC-ST communities as “tirtha phal” (fruits of pilgrimage)— This is not a statement, it is a confession of a criminal mentality,” Agarwal said in a post on X.
What Was The Controversial Statement
In a controversial statement to a private media platform, Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya said that incidents like rape take place because the human mind gets 'distracted' seeing a ‘beautiful’ girl.
"If you see a beautiful girl, your mind can get distracted, and incidents like rape can occur," the Congress MLA from Bhander said, adding another morally bankrupt claim that there are “no beautiful girls” among the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes communities.
Adding on to the shock, the MLA further went on to reason that, "it is written in sacred texts that if someone cannot go on a pilgrimage, they can attain the same merit by having sexual intercourse with women from the Scheduled Castes (SC)."
"Those who cannot go on pilgrimages follow the scriptures, stay at home, and in the darkness of night, they catch hold of a girl from the Scheduled Castes and then have intercourse with her," he went on with his sick justification.
Further, in a completely bizzare explanation for rampant cases of rape among SC, ST, and OBCs, Baraiya said, “Rape cannot be committed by just one person; at least four or five people do it. That's why rapes happen even with four-month-old and ten-month-old baby girls—the reason being that they think in their minds that if I have intercourse with the girl, I will gain the merit of this pilgrimage.”
Published By : Satyaki Baidya
Published On: 17 January 2026 at 13:33 IST