Attacks on BJP governments in UP, J&K part of a pattern, says Meenakshi Lekhi

A day after public outrage mounted over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old in Kathua in Jammu, and the death in custody of the father of an alleged rape victim in Unnao, the BJP, whose MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar is an accused in the Unnao rape case, sprang to do damage control.

Addressing a presser in New Delhi, Lok Sabha MP Meenakshi Lekhi, termed much of the attacks on the BJP-led government in UP over the Unnao case, and the support that two BJP Ministers in the Mehbooba Mufti government extended to the Hindu Ekta Manch on the side of the accused in the Kathua case “as a pattern” by the opposition to undermine the Modi government.

“You see their plan, first shout ‘minority minority, then ‘Dalit Dalit,’ and now ‘women women’ and then try to somehow fix blame of state issues on the centre. All this while ignoring the strict action being taken by state governments,” she said.

Ms. Lekhi clarified that the BJP had in its state executive in J&K passed a resolution that the family of the victim in Kathua be rendered justice. About the two Ministers who joined a rally in support of the accused, she said, “They were misguided, as happens in public life, many people come up to you to say that their side of the story is correct. My simple advice to anyone in public life is to say that they will make no statements till an investigation in the case is on.”

She also pointed out that the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association B.S. Slathia, accused of harassing the victims lawyer and attempting to block the filing of the charge sheet in the case “was the polling agent of Ghulam Nabi Azad” and questioned the Congress’ statements blaming the BJP when their own party men were complicit in trying to block the prosecution.

On the Unnao case, she said that the UP government has been swift. “The incident in Unnao is 10 months old, in the initial complaint, in front of the magistrate, the victim did not name the MLA. It was later when she wrote to Prime Minister Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath naming the MLA, that the focus of the investigation shifted,” she said.

On the death of the victim’s father in custody, Ms Lekhi said that it was the result of a wrongful certification by hospital authorities where the police had sent the injured man. “The two doctors in question have been taken into custody,” she said.

Commenting on the candlelight vigil led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday night she said that the party was being selective and hadn’t done so for the victims of other rape cases and the anti-Sikh riots in 1984.