Congress criticises BJP for crimes against women in states it governs, questions PM's silence

NEW DELHI, September 21: The Congress today questioned the “silence” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged sexual assault of an Army officer's fiancée in police custody in Odisha and other criminal incidents against women in BJP-ruled states.

The party demanded immediate dismissal of all policemen responsible for the alleged brutality of the woman in Odisha, a judicial inquiry into the incident and setting up of a veterans' commission on the lines of the SC/ST commission.

Congress leader Ajoy Kumar said that in Odisha, some men misbehaved with the daughter of an Army Brigadier, who is also the fiancée of an Army Captain, and when she went to a “model police station” to lodge a complaint, she and her fiancée were brutally beaten up.

“A false case is then set up and the victim and her companion are taken into custody. In this case, an army officer writes a letter to a Supreme Court judge, asking him to 'deliver justice'.

“But Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are silent on the whole matter,” Kumar said at a joint press conference with All India Congress Committee (AICC) veterans department chairman Colonel (retd) Rohit Chaudhry.

In Indore in Madhya Pradesh, army officers and their female friends were held hostage and beaten and one of the two women was raped, he said.

In Rajasthan, an army jawan was brutally beaten up at a police station, Kumar claimed, citing another incident in Manipur in which the wife of an army jawan was allegedly stripped naked.

“In Manipur, an army soldier was abducted and killed. In Odisha, a tribal girl was gang-raped and her body was found,” he said.

“Many such incidents have happened in the country but not a single word has come out of the mouths of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah,” the Congress leader said.

In Jharkhand, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) woman leader, Seema Patra, brutally tortured a tribal girl who worked in her house, he alleged.

Kumar said there are two groups of women in the country – those living in BJP-ruled states and others – and the saffron party leaders raise their voice only for the latter category, while those under their rule have to face all kinds of brutality.

“Some time ago, President Draupadi Murmu had said 'enough is enough' following the Kolkata (rape and murder) incident. Now we are asking 'enough is enough'? Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Indore – we are asking Modiji: when will you write an editorial in one of the leading national dailies saying 'enough is enough',” Kumar said.

Chaudhry said, “A brigadier's daughter is not safe in Odisha. She is being abused, she goes to the police station to complain and there too she is brutally beaten. Unspeakable acts have been committed against this woman.”

This is the situation in BJP-ruled Odisha and this is the hooliganism of the saffron party, he alleged.

Several incidents similar to the one in Odisha have been reported from different parts of the country, Chaudhry said.

A Manipur Army soldier, who gave Pakistan a hard time, could not save his wife, he said.

“Despite all this, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are silent,” Chaudhry said. He added that the Army Chief of Staff should reach out to the Prime Minister and tell him that “enough is enough” and that all this is not acceptable.

Under the Army Act, no army officer can be detained without cause and those responsible for such acts can be dismissed immediately, the Congress leader said.

Chaudhry pointed out that the army officer, accompanying his fiancée, who was allegedly manhandled inside the Odisha police station, was illegally detained for 14 hours.

Opposition party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress staged protests in Odisha on Saturday, demanding justice for the woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted at a Bhubaneswar police station.

The alleged incident took place on September 15, when an army officer posted in West Bengal and his fiancée went to the Bharatpur police station to lodge a complaint of road rage. They were also allegedly harassed by local men.

However, a verbal altercation took place between the duo and some policemen, following which the army officer and his fiancée were allegedly assaulted at the police station. (PTI)