Kolkata: After Tapas Pal, another Trinamool leader has sparked a controversy by his remark that as “long as the world exists, rape will be there,” inviting strong condemnation from the opposition and women rights groups.
“Rapes were committed earlier, rapes are being committed now. As long as the world exists, rape will be there,” TMC MLA Dipak Haldar said at a meeting at Diamond Harbour in neighbouring South 24 Paraganas district yesterday.
Haldar described rape as a “social disease” and said, “We do not support rape. It is not possible for chief minister Mamata Banerjee alone to solve this problem”. TMC MP Tapas Pal had earlier threatened to kill opposition CPI(M) workers and have their women raped if a single ruling party worker was attacked.
The comment triggered an outrage forcing him to tender an apology. Reacting to Haldar’s remark, Congress leader Manish Tewari said it was “extremely unfortunate” that such insensitive comments continued to be made.
“The fact is that public representatives need to be not only restrained in their utterances but more importantly need to play a positive role in creating a climate where there is safety for women,” Tewari said. (PTI)
