Four men can't practically rape one woman, says Mulayam Singh Yadav

There were 570 gangrapes in Uttar Pradesh in 2014. There were the 2,300 gang rapes across the country in the same year, according to National Crime Records Bureau. There are many convicts who are serving life sentence for committing gang rapes.

But Mulayam Singh Yadav believes that it is practically not possible to commit the crime of gangrape.

At a political event in Uttar Pradesh this is what the Samajwadi party supremo said: "Innocents must not be implicated and harassed. There are cases, where a victim has accused four brothers of raping her. It is not practical."

The comment was made unprovoked at a function to distribute free e-rickshaws. He used the event to tell the media that a smear campaign was being run against the party's government in UP. Citing the example of Badaun rape case he said, "The CBI probed the case and found out that rape was not committed at all. They were cold-blooded murders by the victim's cousins for property...But even senior leaders like Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul rushed to Badaun and attacked the state government at the law and order front."

Repeat offender

However, one doesn't expect Yadav to speak for women's rights as he has a history of making sexist comment. In April 2014, while opposing death penalty to three men convicted in a gangrape case, he had said that "ladke, ladke hain. galti ho jati hai (boys will be boys. they commit mistakes)."

Addressing a rally in Moradabad, he had pinned the blame of rapes on women. He said: "Ladkiyan pehle dosti karti hain. Ladke-ladki mein matbhed ho jata hai. Matbhed hone key baad usey rape ka naam dey deti hain. Ladko sey galti ho jati hai. Kya rape case mein phasi di jayegi?(First girls develop friendship with boys. They when differences occur, they level rape charges. Boys commit mistakes. Will they be hanged for rape)."

Also, Samajwadi party perhaps is the only party in the country that focused on punishing those misusing rape laws instead of focusing on women's safety in its election manifesto.