Rapists should’ve been burnt alive, says Gujarat Congress woman MLA Geniben Thakor

After Alpesh Thakor, one more Congress MLA is in the news for the wrong reasons. Geniben Thakor, MLA from Vav constituency in Banaskantha, reportedly said after the rape of a 14-month-old baby in Sabarkantha that the rapists should have been burnt alive.

Geniben, incidentally an associate of Alpesh Thakor, made the comment when a group of women went to her residence after the September 28 rape incident.

“The Indian laws should be followed, but at the time of the incident … 500, 100, 50 or 150 people are there … they should have used petrol and set them (rapists) on fire, nothing would have happened. They (rapists) should not have been handed over to police, and should have been finished instead,” Geniben is heard saying in the video.

At the end of the video, some of the other women are also heard saying that the rapists should have been killed. On Thursday, as the video that went viral on social media, the MLA clarified that her comment was to calm down the women. “A 14-month-old baby was raped. Women had come to meet me. They were angry. My words were not to incite anger, but to calm them,” Geniben said, while clarifying that she had no intention of making any controversial statement, and that everyone was bound by the Constitution.

Without naming Geniben, Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya, said, “This statement shows that Congress is interested only in spreading violence. It does not have faith in judiciary or democracy.” State Congress president Amit Chavda also condemned the MLA’s statement. “Anger is natural after such an incident (rape), but the law is supreme, and people in public life have to have faith in it,” he said.

Chavda also took a dig at the BJP saying “people are losing faith in the system under the BJP rule, but the law still needs to be respected”.

BURNING REMARK

• Geniben, incidentally an associate of Alpesh Thakor, made the comment when a group of women went to her residence after the September 28 rape incident.
   
• At the end of the video, some of the other women are also heard saying that the rapists should have been killed.  On Thursday, as the video that went viral on social media, the MLA clarified that her comment was to calm down the women.