In demanding a judicial investigation into the incident of rape of Hathras by a Supreme Court judge or Supreme Court judge, Congress on Wednesday called the response of the Uttar Pradesh government on the issue “strange” and alleged that he has been charging sedition charges as if these were “pickpocket” cases.
In a virtual press conference, Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi claimed that no government, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in the past in Uttar Pradesh had invoked sedition charges after an incident of rape such did the dispensation of Yogi Adityanath.
Singhvi’s comments came on a day when Uttar Pradesh police arrested four people, including a Kerala journalist, Siddique Kappan, for sedition and other charges in Mathura, two days after they were arrested on their way to Hathras.
Charges have also been brought under the strict Prevention of Illegal Activities Act and the Information Technology Act against the four who were later placed in pre-trial detention for 14 days by a Mathura court.
“The response of the Yogi Adityanath government to the Hathras incident has been strange and has been putting forward a number of conspiracy theories,” Singhvi said.
More than 21 FIRs have been brought against various individuals on conspiracy charges, outnumbering the cases against the main defendant in the rape incident, it added.
Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath alleged on Monday that an international conspiracy was being hatched to destabilize his government, following his tough stance against protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
“Another type of conspiracy alleged by the prime minister is a conspiracy to destabilize and overthrow his government,” Singhvi said.
“Stop blaming everyone except yourself. Every time you point your figure, there are three fingers pointing at you, which you cannot and should not ignore. And finally, stop arresting all third parties around you in 360 degrees and ignore the punitive actions, but more importantly, the punishment for convicting the real accused of murder and rape, ”she added.
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