Hathras gangrape: Cong questions 'silence' of PM

September 30, 2020 00:34

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Hathras gangrape incident, the Congress on Tuesday questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and women leaders of his party and alleged that Uttar Pradesh under the Yogi Adityanath government has become the country's "crime capital".

The Opposition party's attack on the Centre and the state government came after a 19-year-old Dalit woman from Hathras in UP died at Delhi's Safdarjung hospital Tuesday morning, days after she was allegedly raped by four men.

Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev wrote to Chief Minister Adityanath over the incident and demanded his resignation, saying he should quit taking moral responsibility for the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state and that president's rule be imposed.

At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that for eight days no gangrape charges were pressed in the matter and that the UP chief minister's information advisor and Agra Police kept calling the incident "fake news.

She demanded a probe into the incident by a committee headed by a sitting high court judge.

Shrinate also attacked Union Women and Child Development minister Smriti Irani, an MP from the state, asking her to break her "conspicuous silence" on the issue.

UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu also demanded Adityanath's resignation from the CM's post and asked why UP Governor Anandiben Patel was silent over the incident.

The Congress also protested over the incident at Vijay Chowk in Delhi, demanding justice for the victim. The party said its leaders PL Punia, Udit Raj, Amrita Dhawan along with others were detained at Mandir Marg police station for protesting.

Party leaders and workers also carried out a candle march at Safdarjung hospital and in several places in UP.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the government over the incident, saying the "class-specific jungle raj" of UP has killed another young woman.

"The government said this is fake news and left the victim to die. Neither was this unfortunate incident fake, nor was the death of the victim and the mercilessness of the government," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Congress general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit out at the state government, alleging that there is "no semblance of security" for women in UP.

She said incidents of rape one after the other in Hathras, Shahjahanpur and Gorakhpur have shaken the state.

"Law and order in UP has deteriorated beyond limits. There is no semblance of safety for women. Criminals are committing crimes in the open, Priyanka Gandhi said, demanding that the woman's killers be punished severely.

In her letter to the UP CM, Dev said being the chief minister, he was "accountable" for the brutality committed against the "daughter of Hathras".

She demanded strict action against the culprits through a fast track court and all possible assistance to the victim's family.

"The terrible state of Uttar Pradesh in violence against women is a matter of shame. You should take moral responsibility for the deteriorating law and order situation and resign, and President's rule should be imposed in Uttar Pradesh," Dev said in the letter.

Shrinate alleged that for eight days no gangrape charges were pressed in the matter and only after the media reported it, the police registered a case. She also alleged that the UP chief minister's information advisor and Agra Police, till September 24, kept calling the incident "fake news".

"Why did it take eight days for the UP police to register a gangrape case on her complaint, why was she immediately not transferred to a premier institute like AIIMS, and instead was left to die in UP? Why is it that these men who brutally assaulted, raped and murdered her, do not face NSA (National Security Act) charges and why is it that the UP chief minister is absolutely quiet on this?" Shrinate asked. -- PTI

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