Why no ‘picnic’ over Hoshiarpur or Rajasthan: Sitharaman’s jibe at Rahul after Hathras visit

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra before leaving for Hathras earlier this month. [PTI]

In a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Saturday questioned the Congress leader’s silence on the Hoshiarpur rape case and wondered why no “picnic” was organised by his party leaders to meet the kin of the six-year-old child whose half-burnt body was discovered by police on Wednesday evening.

While referring to Rahul and his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s visit to the Hathras village, where a Dalit woman was brutally assaulted and gangraped by four upper caste men, Sitharaman said: “In the Hathras rape case, it seemed as though they were all going out for a picnic. The brother and sister ran towards the village. But why not in the case of Hoshiarpur or Rajasthan? The selective outrage of the party has been completely exposed.”

“Why was there no response from the ‘tweet-friendly’ leader? Does this selective outrage suit the Congress party? At least 35 MPs were flamboyant in their statements on Twitter in the case of Hathras. Where are those 35 MPs today?” she added.

केंद्रीय वित्त मंत्री श्रीमती @nsitharaman बिहार की बच्ची के साथ पंजाब में हुए दुराचार पर मीडिया को संबोधित कर रहीं हैं।

लाइव देखें https://t.co/d3kiD9cxQw

— BJP Bihar (@BJP4Bihar) October 24, 2020

The minister, who was addressing the media at the BJP headquarters in the national capital, also slammed RJD leader and Bihar chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav, who is contesting the Assembly elections in alliance with the Congress, for his silence on the alleged rape of a child in Bihar.

“The same question is for Tejashwi Yadav who is contesting the Bihar elections in a forceful manner. The  child was the daughter of a migrant worker in Punjab. Didn’t you check it up when you had a joint campaign [with the Congress] in Bihar?”

Continuing her attack on the Grand Old Party, the finance minister said: “It is because of our political games that we voice our horror in some states but are silent when it comes to those governed by the Congress party.”

The six-year-old rape victim in Hoshiarpur village was cremated amid high security on Friday. The last rites of the minor were attended by her entire village where the family demanded capital punishment for the accused. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, meanwhile, directed the DGP to conduct a swift probe in the matter.

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