Bhubaneswar: Attacking the Odisha government over rape cases that happened in the state, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate Tuesday claimed there was a need to protect women from the BJP’s misrule.
Addressing a press conference, Shrinate said it was unfortunate that such crimes were happening in a state where people worship Goddess Subhadra and to which President Droupadi Murmu belongs.
The BJP government raises the slogan for ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, ‘ but in reality, we have to protect our daughters from the BJP’s misrule, she claimed.
When the BJD was in power, the BJP MLAs remained silent. And, now that the BJP has formed the government, the BJD is silent. It shows that both BJD and BJP are in a nexus, she alleged.
Shrinate said the Congress would not tolerate it, and that was why it was continuously raising the issue in the assembly.
In the country, 39 women go missing every day, and 13 of them are from Odisha. This is alarming, she said.
Two residential school students got pregnant in Puri and Jajpur, Shrinate alleged, asking, How could this happen in a place where no outsiders are allowed
About 1,600 cases of crimes against women, including 60 gang rapes, were reported in the state in the last nine months after the BJP came to power. These figures are of those cases which were reported to the police. A lot of cases are there that have not been reported, she claimed.
Shrinate alleged that such was the condition of every state where the BJP was in power.
From Hathras to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the BJP always tries to protect the accused. So, we need to protect our daughters from them and their misrule, she alleged.
To awaken the government from slumber, the Congress will gherao the state assembly March 27, she added.
A House Committee consisting of MLAs of all parties should be formed to investigate the cases and recommend actions to ensure safety for women, Shrinate said.
Reacting to the allegations, senior BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy claimed the Congress was trying to mislead the people of the state.
The BJP government is very much concerned about the safety of women and giving it the topmost priority. In Odisha, women are treated like Goddess Subhadra, and the government is empowering them through different schemes like Subhadra Yojana and Lakhpati Didi, he said.
Tripathy said the Congress should look into its own history before levelling false allegations.
The people of Odisha have been rejecting them for the last 25 years, he said.
PTI
