'Players will learn a lesson from this'; Minister responds to harassment faced by Australian women cricketers

INDORE: A controversy has erupted over the remark made by a Madhya Pradesh minister while responding to the incident where Australian women cricketers, who arrived in Indore for the Women's Cricket World Cup, faced sexual harassment in the city. It was Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, a senior leader of the BJP, who sparked outrage by appearing to downplay the incident and placing blame on the cricketers.

"It is a major lapse. However, the players left the place without telling anyone. They didn't even tell the coach. That's a mistake on their part. They had personal security and police security. But they went out as nobody noticed. Thus, the incident occurred," Vijayvargiya said.

"The players must also learn a lesson from this. I think when we are going to another city or another country, we must think about after safety. Since cricket has a huge fan following in India, the players should tell the security or local administration before stepping out," he added.

The incident occurred in Indore at around 11 am on October 23. Two Australian cricketers, who arrived for the World Cup, were molested and harassed by a youth. Following the incident, the accused named Aqeel Sheikh was arrested by the police. The minister's controversial statement came after both the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association and the BCCI strongly condemned the incident.