Smartphones, Internet Responsible for Growing Rapes, Says Former BJP MP Chief

Bhopal: Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state head and MP Nandkumar Singh Chauhan has blamed the easy availability of smartphones and internet penetration for the growing incidents of rape.

The MP on Saturday said “young, innocent minds” had easy access to obscene content on smartphones, which was leading to crimes against women. He said the “objectionable content distorts the mentality of the young generation and leaves a negative impact on their minds”. Chauhan also quoted media reports to show that the perpetrators of violence against women were often addicted to porn.

This is not the first time that MP’s leaders have sought to play down the growing incidents of violence against women. Home minister Bhupendra Singh recently questioned the furore, saying India reported 94 rapes daily while the state registered just 18 per day.

In April, Singh had blamed the easy availability of porn for sexual offenses against children and said the MP government had requested the Centre to ban certain websites offering such content.

The Congress attacked the BJP government over the MP’s comments, alleging that on one hand, it distributed smartphones among the youth and on the other, blamed the same for fuelling rapes. “Not phones or internet, it’s the lack of law and order that is leading to a surge in the number of rapes in Madhya Pradesh,” Congress chief spokesperson Manak Agrawal said.

The grand old party also kept up the pressure on the ruling BJP, with a group of women workers making their way to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s house to stage a protest over the growing number of rape cases. The workers sat in front of the gate and raised slogans against the chief minister, who is currently touring Sagar district.