New Delhi/Faridabad, Jan 7: Spiritual leader Asaram Bapu was at the centre of a controversy sparking outrage after he suggested that the Delhi gangrape victim was equally responsible for the crime and said the girl could have called her assailants brothers and begged them to stop.
 Asaram’s recent remarks on the gangrape of the 23-year-old girl came in for condemnation across the political spectrum and from women’s bodies today with the BJP saying it was “regrettable, deeply disturbing and painful”.
 In another controversial comment while addressing his followers in Faridabad today, he claimed the incident has unleashed an “anti-men” campaign and cautioned that any new law on crime against women may be misused by vested interests.
 Addressing his followers recently, Asaram said that when the girl encountered six drunk men “she should have taken God’s name and could have held the hand of one of the men and said I consider you as my brother and should have said to the other two ‘Brother I am helpless, you are my brother, my religious brother.’
 She should have taken God’s name and held their hands and feet. Then the misconduct wouldn’t have happened.”
 He also went on to say, “Galti ek taraf se nahi hoti hai (mistake is not committed from one side).” The girl was gangraped on the night of December 16 in a moving bus and died nearly a fortnight later at a Singapore hospital.
 “The accused were drunk. If the girl had chanted hymns to Goddess Saraswati and to Guru Diksha then she wouldn’t have entered the bus...,” he added.
 BJP spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad said Asaram’s statement is regrettable, deeply disturbing and painful.
 Slamming Asaram, the friend of the Delhi gangrape victim said the guru should be punished for his “dirty” remarks.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 7 Jan 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 7 Jan 2013 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 8 Jan 2013 00:00:00 IST