An Indian politician actually said this about rape

Two years ago the brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi caused worldwide anger and shock.

But for some unbeknownst reason, a minister tried to characterise one of the most shocking episodes in India's recent history as "one small incident of rape".

Arun Jaitley, who leads both the finance and defence ministries, told a tourism conference:

One small incident of rape in Delhi, advertised the world over, is enough to cost us millions of dollars in terms of lower tourism.

He has since apologised to the young woman's family and said his words had been "misconstrued", while a transcript of his speech posted on an Indian government website removed the word "small".

The woman's father said Mr Jaitley's comments were "very wrong":

He is talking about losses to the treasury. What about the irreparable loss that we have suffered?

(Pictures: AFP/Getty)

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