PM Modi promises justice for daughters of India
Two BJP ministers who defended the accused quit Jammu & Kashmir govt
NEWDELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Friday termed as “shameful” the rape and murder of an eight-yearold girl in Jammu’s Kathua and the sexual assault on a teenager by a BJP legislator in UP’s Unnao, and promised justice to the victims, moving to calm public anger over the twin incidents.
Almost simultaneously, two BJP ministers in the Jammu and Kashmir government, who had defended the Kathua accused in public, resigned. Their presence in the cabinet had become a key sticking point in the BJP’s ruling coalition with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in J&K.
Separately, in an interview with Hindustan Times, home minister Rajnath Singh too promised justice to the families of both the Kathua and Unnao victims and urged that no one “politicise” the incidents.
“The incidents that we have seen in the last few days challenge the idea of social justice,” Modi said at the inauguration of the Ambedkar National Memorial on Friday evening. “In the last two days, the incidents which are being talked about certainly don’t behove any civilised country. It is shameful... As a nation and as a society, we are ashamed of such incidents.”
An eight-year-old girl was kidnapped in January in Kathua, confined to a temple, drugged and subjected to multiple rapes by a group of men before she was murdered a week later, according to the charge sheet filed on Monday by J&K crime branch. A teenager alleged she had been raped last year by BJP member of the UP legislative assembly Kuldeep Singh Sengar, whose brother is accused of having fatally assaulted her father earlier this month. The father died on Monday in judicial custody, where he was sent on the charge of possessing an unlicensed firearm.
The incidents have stirred anger and outrage, and handed ammunition to the opposition to attack the central government.
The PM said that such an incidents - in any corner, in any state - shake “human sensibilities.”
“I want to assure that no culprit will be spared. There will be justice and there will be full justice,” he said.
Modi went beyond the two cases and said it was time to stop such “internal evils.” Recalling a speech he made at Red Fort after becoming prime minister, he said “I had the courage to say from Lal Quila.. that we ask girls about their whereabouts when they come home late but those parents should also ask their boys where they were when they come home late. They, who commit crimes against our mothers and sisters, are also sons of a mother. And that’s why (developing) social sensibilities are our collective responsibility. We have to fight together against these social ills and bring the culprits to justice.”
In the interview with HT, the home minister said, “What has happened in Kathua is sad. It is shameful. Anyone belonging to any religion, community cannot but condemn the incident. The family must get justice.”
When asked about the BJP being perceived as seeking to protecting the Kathua accused, Singh said, “No one, no one, can defend it. No one should politicise an incident of this nature. I have told people in the party to normalise the situation.”
As the government and the BJP’s senior-most leadership stepped in, the two BJP ministers in the J&K government - Chander Parkash Ganga and Choudhary Lal Singh - who had appeared at an event and said the Kathua accused were innocent -- submitted their resignations to the party’s state chief Sat Sharma.
“They have resigned..they have also given their views and reasons as to why they attended the rally (by Hindu Ekta Manch) in Hiranagar. They have put forth their views,” Sharma said. The rally was held in support of the rape accused and the two made inflammatory speeches at the event.
Explaining the decision of the ministers to resign, Ram Madhav, BJP’s general secretary and key interlocutor with the PDP, said, as reported by ANI: “There was indiscretion on part of our two ministers; coming under the pressure of local public they spoke at a gathering. I immediately flew to Jammu as soon as I got to know and told party that we should fully support the investigation.”
He, however, said there was “no trouble” in the alliance. “We are in touch with Mehbooba Muftiji. She is of the view that on the ministers issue, the BJP should take a stand. The PM also advised us to take appropriate action to send a right message to people.”
Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti called a “crucial meeting” in Srinagar on Saturday to discuss the PDP’s ties with BJP. She had, a close aide to the CM said, conveyed to the BJP leadership that the ministers must resign for the coalition to survive. The Kathua incident marked the first time the PDP had publicly criticised local leaders of the BJP since they formed a coalition government in 2015.
Mehbooba on Thursday night posted a Twitter message assuring the entire nation that she stood committed not just for ensuring justice for the Kathua victim but also to “seek exemplary punishment for those responsible for a crime whose brutal savagery has shamed humanity”. In another tweet ,she added that her government will bring a new law that will make the death penalty mandatory for those who rape minors.
The opposition National Conference (NC) had mounted a sharp attack against Mehbooba for failing to act against the two BJP ministers who “openly rallied support for divisive groups out to subvert the investigation and shield the accused.”
It had also threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement against the government if it failed to act against the ministers.
Responding to the PM’s speech, Congress president Rahul Gandhi late on Friday tweeted, “Dear Prime Minister, Thank you for breaking your long silence. You said “our daughters will get justice”. India wants to know: when? #SpeakUp.”