In a bizarre statement, Surendra Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Balliya, has said that incidents like the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras can be stopped only if parents inculcate good values in their daughters.

Talking to local reporters in Balliya, the BJP MLA said neither governance nor use of weapons can prevent such crimes.

“Incidents like these can be stopped with help of good values -‘na shashan se, na talwar se’. All parents should teach their daughters good values. It is the combination of governance and good values that can make the country beautiful,” he told the news agency ANI.

Uttar Pradesh's BJP government is already facing massive uproar over the handling of the case and has been accused of trying to protect the accused who belong to upper-caste.

Surendra Singh has been known for making controversial statements.

He had earlier also made statements in support of expelled-BJP MLA form Unnao Kuldeep Singh Sengar who is currently convicted in a rape case against a woman.

He had raised questions on the authenticity of the complaint of the woman and said "who rapes a mother of three children"?

"I am speaking from a psychological point of view. No one can rape a mother of three children. It is not possible. This is a conspiracy against him (Kuldeep Sengar). Yes, maybe her father was thrashed by some people but I refuse to believe the rape charge."

Singh had earlier stoked a controversy by comparing government officials with prostitutes. “Prostitutes are better than officials. They take money and dance all night. But these officers despite taking money from the public, don’t do their work,” he had said.