Madhya Pradesh Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kailash Vijayvargiya has blamed Australian women cricketers themselves for the recent harassment incident in Indore.
Two days ago, two Australian women cricketers were harassed when a man on a motorcycle allegedly touched one of them inappropriately while they were walking from their hotel to a café. Police later arrested a suspect.
However, instead of condemning the act, Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is a member of the ruling right-wing BJP, said that the players were at fault for going out without informing the authorities.
The BJP minister said, “It was their mistake to go out without informing anyone. They will learn a lesson from this incident and will be more careful in the future.”
He added that the harassment of the Australian players also showed a failure of local security arrangements.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi’s opposition party Congress strongly condemned the minister’s statement, calling it a reflection of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s mindset.
Congress leader Arun Yadav said, “The minister’s remarks reflect the disgusting and shameful mentality of the BJP. The entire nation is embarrassed by the incident.”