UP Governor Aziz Qureshi's comments came close on the heels of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav saying that rapes in the state was much less compared to its total population.

UP Governor Aziz Qureshi's comments came close on the heels of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav saying that rapes in the state was much less compared to its total population. UP Governor Aziz Qureshi's comments came close on the heels of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav saying that rapes in the state was much less compared to its total population.

COMING to the rescue of the Akhilesh Yadav government, Uttar Pradesh Governor Aziz Qureshi on Monday controversially remarked that even God cannot prevent recurrence of rape in the state. Qureshi, while responding to a media query on the murder of a 30-year-old laboratory technician, said: ''Even God cannot stop such crime from taking place in UP."

The Governor also advised the media to stop criticizing Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for the poor law and order situation in the state. "Media must not keep questioning and condemning the UP government for crimes like rape. Akhilesh is trying to do his best. But it cannot be checked even after deploying police and military personnel across the state," he added.

Sensing trouble, Qureshi later called the media to elaborate his statement which he made some two hours before. "All I had said was that crime like rapes cannot be stopped. Even if the God descends on the earth in the guise of an officer, even then it will be impossible to control the crime completely," Qureshi said. He added his statementwas not new as Mahatma Gandhi himself had remarked this before. "Even Mahatma Gandhi had said that evil cannot be wiped out completely from the world," he said.

When asked about discrepancies in the police statement that a security guard alone had killed the lab technician, Qureshi noted: "The inquiry should be done properly." On Friday, Qureshi had brushed aside media queries on the rising crime in Uttar Pradesh. Qureshi instead went on to appreciate kebabs and biryani served to the guests at the iftaar hosted by Advocate General V. C. Mishra.

Reacting to the statement, BJP state president Laxmi Kant Bajpai, said: "The Governor has diminished the dignity of his office. He has to soon vacate Raj Bhavan as the new governor will take over after a day. He must apologise to the 21 crore people of Uttar Pradesh.