The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday questioned the congressional silence on the alleged rape and murder of a six-year-old Dalit girl in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur this week while criticizing the party’s “selective outrage” over crimes against women. The girl’s family is from Bihar.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said rape and crimes against women cannot be linked to politics. It asked if Congressional leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who visited the family of the 19-year-old Dalit woman allegedly raped and murdered in BJP-ruled Hathras in Uttar Pradesh to seek justice for her, will do so for the girl in Punjab. , where Congress is in power.
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“No violation should be politicized; It is despicable that violations occur and that justice is delayed in some cases. And all political parties together will need to ensure that the system responds and justice is served on time. But because we want our political games to be played, we are selective in expressing horror when it is in some states and we remain completely silent when it is in states governed by Congress, ”he said.
He said it is regrettable that the demand for justice that was raised in the state ruled by the BJP is not present when it comes to cases from Rajasthan and Punjab ruled by Congress.
“The pretentious Congress has not said a word. Tweet-friendly Rahul Gandhi has not tweeted about the Hoshiarpur incident. There has been no outrage; there is no picnic either. “
The BJP leader also questioned Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) silence on the incident. “Did [RJD leader] Tejwasvi Yadav, who campaigned [for the Bihar election] with Gandhi don’t ask why he is silent. That boy was from Bihar. RJD not accountable to that family? “, He said.
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Criticizing the RJD for failing to defend women’s safety, she said, party leaders have a poor record. Citing a media report from January 2, 2008, he said: “In 2008, there were accusations against the RJD brothers for making fun of Eve in Delhi, so it does not affect them. During the raj of the jungle in Bihar, we know what the law and order situation was; the wives of high officials were not spared. “
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh criticized BJP leaders Nirmala Sitharaman and Prakash Javadekar for their comments on the Hoshiarpur rape and murder case, calling their comments “political boastfulness” with no basis or basis to support your criticism.
Singh repulsed the BJP’s attack on his government and the Gandhis. Amarinder Singh said that, contrary to what these leaders claimed, there was no comparison between the case of Hoshiarpur and that of Hathras. He noted that in the Hathras case, the Uttar Pradesh government and police “not only failed” to initiate severe action, but were in fact apparently “trying to cover up” the matter for the benefit of higher caste defendants. .
This, he said, stands in stark contrast to the swift action taken by the Punjab police, who immediately arrested the accused and are now preparing to present the challan within a week.
The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh faced much criticism after the Hathras woman was cremated in the dead of night without the approval of her family.
Members of Parliament (MP) from various parties, including the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, were mistreated by the police when they tried to visit the woman’s family in Hathras.
Referring to the statements of parliamentarians on the Hathras incident, the minister said: “The BJP supports all those who want to do justice to the family in Hoshiarpur. When there was something in Hathras, 35 high-ranking MPs from the party [Congress] from all over the country made statements on Twitter and wanted to march to Hathras for justice. Where are those 35 today? “
The minister said that while the BJP government is accused of cracking down on freedom of expression, incidents of police action against journalists are being reported in the congressional states of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
“Many derogatory comments were made about the prime minister [Prime Minister Narendra Modi] and the [Union] interior minister [Amit Shah], Has there been any action? There is much talk that freedom of expression is under threat, but only in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. Congress’s DNA is to suppress free speech. “
In response to Sitharaman’s comments, RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwary said: “The RJD is sensitive to women’s issues. After all, whose rule is it? Is Tejashwi Yadav responsible for everything? It seems that BJP has no problem to stand out and they are trying to drag their name into anything. The people of Bihar will teach them a lesson. “
(With contributions from the agency)
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