Bhubaneswar: The suicide of the Kunduli gang-rape victim snowballed into a political storm Tuesday with the two leading Opposition parties in the state – the Congress and the BJP – calling a state wide bandh Wednesday.
The main opposition Congress called a state-wide dawn-to-dusk (6 am to 6 pm) bandh, while the BJP which initially called a 12-hour bandh in the undivided Koraput region, later said it will call a 12-hour hartal across the state.
Orissa Congress president Prasad Harichandan who announced the party’s decision to call a bandh Wednesday said, “The victim did not get justice and was forced to end her life. The Orissa government is fully responsible for this tragedy.”
Stating that the bandh is being called to ensure adequate security for women in the state, Harichandan urged the people to cooperate and make the bandh a success. Congress spokesman Ganeswar Behera said that all traffic will be stopped except fire tenders and ambulances. Students appearing for exams will not be stopped.
The BJP called a state-wide hartal and a 12-hour bandh in the undivided Koraput region holding the government responsible for the suicide of the minor girl at her Musaguda home in Koraput Monday.
The BJP’s state general secretary Bhrigu Buxipatra asked the government to hand over the case to the CBI for a fair probe.
Earlier in the day, the BJP as well as Congress leaders staged a protest in the capital and tried to gherao the residence of the Chief Minister.
In Koraput, tension mounted in Kunduli as angry villagers and Congress leaders staged a road blockade, placing the body of the Kunduli gang-rape victim on the road demanding a CBI probe and action against officials and doctors holding them responsible for the tragedy.
The demonstrators, including Congress leaders, did not allow the administration to take the girl’s body to Koraput for post-mortem. They forcibly took the body away from hospital Tuesday morning and kept it near the Kunduli market blocking traffic on the NH26 connecting Koraput and Visakhapatnam.
BJD MP and party spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb, however, slammed the Congress and the BJP for politicising the issue. “Politicising such a sensitive case will set a wrong precedent. The Opposition should refrain from such an act,” Deb said.
PNN
