Actor Kirron Kher stirs controversy for allegedly blaming 22-year-old Indian rape victim

The 22-year-old girl was allegedly gang raped by an autodriver and his two accomplices

Chandigarh's BJP MP Kirron Kher has stirred a controversy by giving unsolicited advice to a young woman who was gang raped earlier this month by an auto-rickshaw driver and his two accomplices.

Kher said on Wednesday that the victim should have been more cautious and not boarded the auto-rickshaw in which three men were already sitting.

The Bollywood actor and Lok Sabha member later sought to clarify her statement, saying it was "only in the context of certain precautions" that women should take and that it was "not intended to blame the victim or shame her."

The Bharatiya Janata Party MP had earlier said that the 21-year-old gang rape victim should have avoided boarding the auto-rickshaw when she saw that three men were already sitting in it.

The girl was gang-raped by the three men and left alone after the heinous act. The police were informed after some passersby spotted her.

“I wish to talk about the victim as well. She shouldn't have boarded the rickshaw when she already saw three men sitting inside it. I am saying this to protect the girls,” Kher said during a press conference at which she was asked about the incident.

Quoting from her own commuting experience, Kher asserted, “We used to commute mostly in taxis in Mumbai, and it was routine to send the number of the cab to someone we knew. Because we wanted our safety as girls."



She went on to add, "I remember as a girl, I feel that in these times, we also have to be more careful about these things."

Kher also said that she “really felt sad” for the victim. “People should educate their boys. Even in the family, when the father doesn’t respect the mother, that does create an impact on the kids."

Asked about increasing cases of eve teasing, gang rape and other crimes, Kher said that the cases of ‘eve teasing’ have been prevalent in north India since ages and Chandigarh Police was efficiently tracking all the cases.

On Thursday however, Kher clarified her stand. "I just said that the world is a bad place. We all, especially ladies, have to take precautions. As a mother, I am saying this that we need to take care," Kher said.

She said that if the victim had called up the police control room, the police would have taken her and dropped her safely to her home.

"If the Congress wants to make an issue out of it, I cannot help," she said.

The MP was also all praise about the UT Police the way they arrested the accused in the gang rape immediately.

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