Hostels for girls if parents guarantee security: MP minister

A Madhya Pradesh minister has set off a controversy saying the government will set up hostels for girls only if students and their parents give a written undertaking that they will take care of their security.

"Girls might face problems if they stay alone. In view of this, if 5-10 girl students and their parents give an undertaking in writing that they will take care of their security we will set up hostels for them," Tribal and Scheduled Caste Welfare Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah said.The statement drew strong criticism from political parties and the National Commission for Women.Shah made this remark while addressing an All India Vidyarthi Parishad's state-level programme for scheduled tribes on Saturday.

"We also want our sisters to get education. The government can give them hostels, but the girls and their parents have to arrange for their own security," he said.

"The government will bear hostel expenses... We will pay the rent, water and electricity bills, but the protection will be the responsibility of the girls and their parents," he said and advised the girls to return to their hostels by 8 PM.

Shah's remarks evoked sharp reactions from political parties with state Congress president Kantilal Bhuria saying "this shows the government is helpless in front of rapists, mafias and hooligans".

"Maintaining law and order is the government's responsibility and when a minster says he can't guarantee security to girls, it shows no government exists in Madhya Pradesh," he said, alleging "28,000 incidents of rape have taken place in the state".

Not only the Opposition, the minister also came in for criticism from NDA ally JD-U whose president Sharad Yadav said, "Law and order is government's responsibility. Leave alone providing security to girls living in hostels, the safety of every person present on the streets also is the responsibility of the government."

NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma criticised Shah for his statement. "I wonder if the job of political leaders ends after securing the votes of women. If providing security to girls is not the job of the government, then whose job it is," she asked.

Another Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya was recently at the centre of a controversy over his remark that women must not cross the Lakshman rekha to avoid unwanted consequences.

"Only when Sitaji crossed the Lakshman Rekha, she was kidnapped by Ravan... If Sitaji (woman) crosses the Lakshman Rekha, then Sitaharan (abduction) is bound to take place as Ravans are out there," the industries minister had said, narrating an incident from the epic Ramayana while seeking to explain the reason behind the recent spate of crimes against women.

As BJP dissociated itself from his remarks, the minister had tendered an apology.