New Delhi: The Congress on Monday expressed shock and sought an apology from BJP President Amit Shah for alleged strip-searching of women at a women’s conference he addressed two days ago at Bhilai Charoda in Chhattisgarh. Demanding strict action against the police personnel involved in the sordid incident, Congress communications convener and spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi told a press conference here that this mindless act of outraging the modesty of women in the name of security is “akin to molestation.” She said it only exposes the anti-woman mindset of the BJP and pointed out that the party is suffering from melanophobia – the fear of colour black.
“After black scarves, balloons and flags were banned from rallies of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, even black undergarments are giving BJP the blues,” Priyanka said. A report from the steel town of Bhillai said women’s undergarments were searched to ensure they don’t carry black flags inside the venue and wave them at Amit Shah. It said women cops asked participating women to take off their clothes before they were allowed to enter the venue. Priyanka said the BJP keeps talking about “’Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (save girl child, educate girl child)” but there is need in reality to save the girl child and women from the BJP leaders, who give patronage to the rapists. She referred to the horrifying incident of the eve-teasers’ attack on 34 school children in Bihar and the gruesome incident of 42 girls in the age group of 7 to 17 sexually assaulted in a shelter home in Muzaffarpur and said this is right time to ask nine questions to Prime Minister Modi on women safety ahead of his fast for nine days of Navratri.