Maharaj + 
 
 defended Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh + 
 
 JAIPUR: In a remark that may stoke another controversy, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj on Wednesday said couples displaying affection in public should be put behind bars."Be it a motorcycle, car or park, couples can be seen behaving in a vulgar fashion. They hug each other as if the girl will eat the boy or the boy will eat the girl," the Lok Sabha member from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh said.told reporters in Bharatpur in Rajasthan, "It will be appropriate to take action and put such couples behind bars before anything wrong occurs."Known for not mincing his words, the BJP leader said everyone ignores them but when rape occurs people demand action by the police.Maharaj, who had earlier, said he had no ties with him but some political leaders seek cooperation of fake godmen to fetch votes.The Dera chief has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping two of his disciples."People such as Ram Rahim and Rampal have emerged from vote bank politics and political leaders need to introspect on whether such godmen (babas) should be encouraged," he said.Ram Rahim and Rampal were "hypocrites", he alleged.On the Rohingya Muslim refugees issue, the BJP MP said they had no right to stay in the country. 

 
 
 A couple at Safdarjang's Tomb, New Delhi, in May 2007. Many young Indian couples use public spaces such as parks and cafes to cuddle and kiss, a growing concern for the country's Hindu conservatives. (Emily Wax/The Washington Post) 
 
 NEW DELHI — A member of India’s Parliament from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party has said that couples displaying affection in public should be thrown in jail, because such “vulgar” behavior can lead to rape. 
 
 “Be it a motorcycle, car or park, couples can be seen behaving in a vulgar fashion. They hug each other as if the girl will eat the boy or the boy will eat the girl,” Sakshi Maharaj told reporters Wednesday, according to the Press Trust of India. 
 
 “It will be appropriate to take action and put such couples behind bars before anything wrong occurs,” he said. 
 
 Maharaj, 61, is a controversial saffron-robed religious leader who holds a parliament seat from the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. 
 
 He has previously faced charges of rape and murder, and was expelled from the upper house of Parliament on corruption charges. The seat he now holds is in the lower house. 
 
 His remarks come at a time when conservatism is rising in majority Hindu India, where new sanctions on consumption of liquor and cow slaughter — anathema to many Hindus — have been put in place. There has also been increased public debate over law enforcement overreaching its role and straying into “moral policing” — with lovers’ hotels raided in Mumbai and states setting up “anti-Romeo squads,” allegedly to deter harassment. 
 
 Maharaj’s statements are just the latest incendiary comments by Indian politicians about sex, women and rape. In recent years, politicians have suggested that mobile phone use or consumption of meat or Chinese food are to blame for rapes, or suggested women in the tourist haven of Goa not wear bikinis on the beach “for their own protection.” 
 
 We’ve collected a few of them here, and the Ladies Finger website has a compendium called “Politicians Say the Darndest Things. Alas, Constantly Updated.” 
 
 Read more: 
 
 It’s not easy for women to own land in India. One woman died fighting for hers. 
 
 She was raped at 13. Her case has been in India’s courts for 11 years — and counting. 
 
 An Indian teen was raped by her father. Village elders had her whipped. 
 
 Men’s attitudes about women were changing in this Indian village. Then a dowry dispute turned deadly.
– There's not being a fan of PDAs, and then there's this guy: A lawmaker in India wants overly affectionate couples jailed. Sakshi Maharaj, a member of parliament, complained to reporters about seeing too many gropey couples out in public, reports the Times of India. "They hug each other as if the girl will eat the boy or the boy will eat the girl," says the 61-year-old. "It will be appropriate to take action and put such couples behind bars before anything wrong occurs." Maharaj went on to suggest that such behavior can lead to rape. The Washington Post notes that Maharaj himself is a controversial figure in India who has previously faced charges of rape and murder and was once booted from India's upper house of Parliament over corruption charges. He currently sits in the lower house. His comments come amid a growing debate in India about such "moral policing," writes Annie Gowen of the Post.