Swati Maliwal asks Nitish Kumar: Is the government, which could not do justice with the girls yet, capable of taking care of them now? (File photo)
“Sir, you don’t have any daughter. But I want to ask you would you not have taken any action against anyone in the Muzaffarpur shelter abuse case if, out of those 34 girls, anyone would have been your daughter? Due to this one act of yours, you have lost respect among crores of women and girls in the country,” said Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal in a letter to Bihar Chief Minister.
Maliwal asked the Bihar Chief Minister what steps are being taken by the state government in the interest of the girls of the shelter home. “My team and I are ready to work for the betterment of those girls. Lakhs of people like us in the Country want to help them,” she wrote.
Describing the details of the case, Maliwal said, “The Muzaffarpur shelter home incident has taken away my sleep. The pain of the girls has shamed the people of our country. I know Bihar is not my work area but I am writing to you regarding this being a woman and I hope you would read it.”
Maliwal further said, “A TISS report had reported about this shelter home in April, and I am saddened that the Bihar government did not take any action against it in three months. Rather it gave more projects to the NGO run by the ‘demon’ Brajesh Thakur. You were not seen taking any strong decision even after the media highlighted the whole incident. You just handed over the case to the CBI to get rid of the situation. And this is the reason, we saw a big smile on Brajesh Thakur’s face after his arrest.”
The DCW chief asked many questions to Kumar. “Is the government, which could not do justice with the girls yet, capable of taking care of them now? Are the girls still suffocating in the shelter home or the government is working for their better future? Have they started going to a good school? Are they getting the help of psychiatrists to fight with their appalling past? Is anybody pressuring them to change their statements now? she asked in the letter.
She also urged the chief minister to take strict actions against the culprits. “In 2008 during floods, I had visited Bihar and stayed there for several months. Had heard so much about your good works then. If you consider these girls as your own daughter, take action against those who wronged them and spend all your energies for their well being, then maybe you would be partly saved from the blot.”
Meanwhile, breaking his silence on the incident, Nitish Kumar had on Friday said the incident has shamed the government, adding that those found guilty will be “severely punished”.
“Muzaffarpur mein aisi ghatana ghat gayi ki hum sharamsaar ho gaye. CBI jaanch kar rahi hai, High Court iski monitoring kare (The incident in Muzaffarpur has shamed us. The CBI is investigating it and I want the High Court to monitor it),” he was quoted as saying by ANI. “I would like to assure everyone that no leniency will be shown towards anyone, and all those found guilty will be severely punished.”
Kumar’s statement came a day after the Supreme Court took suo moto cognizance of the allegations. he has faced much criticism over the case.