Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (August 20) dodged questions on his stance on the rape and murder case of a doctor in Kolkata, which has seen doctors protest on the streets of the country, saying he had visited his parliamentary constituency, Rae Bareli, to “demand justice for the Dalit” who was killed in Nasirabad. He said he had “already spoken” about the horror in West Bengal and would not speak about it there.
On August 9, a junior doctor was raped and murdered at the R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, triggering massive protests by the medical fraternity across the country. Rahul Gandhi was on a one-day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency, Rae Bareli, to meet the family of a Dalit youth, Arjun Pasi, who was shot dead nine days ago in Nasirabad.
Rahul Gandhi evades a question on Calcutta
Asked by reporters about his stance on the Kolkata incident, which took place in West Bengal, a state ruled by India’s block ally TMC, he said, “I am here to seek justice for the Dalit family, whose son was killed. I will not speak about the Kolkata incident here, I have already spoken about it.” This comes as the Mamata Banerjee government has been marred by allegations of a “cover-up” in the case which was initially investigated by the Kolkata Police before being handed over by the Calcutta High Court to the CBI.
Pressed by reporters to respond citing the Supreme Court’s stern observations, he remained evasive and replied, “I have come here seeking justice for the Dalit family.”
“You don’t want to bring up the Dalit issue. You want to divert attention from the issue. I am here to seek justice for the family,” Rahul added in a terse reply.
BJP reacts harshly
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised his “distraction” comment and questioned whether demanding justice for a daughter was a distraction for the Congress MP.
“When asked about the RG Kar Medical College case and the Supreme Court’s criticism of the Bengal government and police, Rahul Gandhi brazenly said ‘I will not be distracted’. Is Nyay for Beti a distraction? Those who talk about Sanvidhan, Ladki hoon lad sakti hoon and visit the homes of victims in UP are calling a grave injustice a ‘distraction’ because it happened in Bengal. This is an insult to the victim and all women,” wrote Shehzad Poonawala on X.
It is noteworthy that the BJP has questioned the silence of the INDIA block parties on the Kolkata rape and murder case, alleging “double standards”.
(With contributions from agencies)
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