Goa: Opposition dons black armbands, insists safety is duty of police

PANAJI: Opposition MLAs on Friday walked into the legislative assembly donning black armbands in protest of the statements made by chief minister Pramod Sawant in the Benaulim gangrape case and also to register their protest against the rising incidence of rape in the state.
Over the past seven days, two more rape cases have been reported in the state apart from the incident at Benaulim.
“We are protesting against the chief minister’s refusal to apologise for his statement. He said safety and security of children is a collective responsibility, but it can’t be,” Fatorda GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai told reporters on the sidelines of the monsoon assembly session.
Sawant on Wednesday, while informing the House about the progress made in investigation of the Benaulim gangrape case, had said, “When 14-year-olds stay on the beach the whole night, the parents need to introspect. Just because children don’t listen, we cannot put the responsibility on the government and police.”
After being criticised widely, he claimed he was quoted out of context.
Sardesai, however, said security and safety is the sole responsibility of police. “Let’s suppose I’m shot on the road. It can’t be said that I should not have gone there because it was not safe,” he said.
Alleging that there has been a complete breakdown of the law and order in the state, Sardesai asked if Sawant was even aware that after the Benualim gangrape incident, there were two more, one in Usgao and the other in Quepem.