Bhubaneswar: The opposition BJD and Congress in Odisha accused the BJP government of being insensitive to sexual abuses of women in the state, claiming that the administration’s policy of “zero tolerance” to rape was not enough, as people wanted ‘zero incidents’.
The recent issue relating to alleged sexual abuse of three girls in the age group of six to eight years in a village under MV-79 police station area of Malkangiri district was discussed in the Assembly, where the two opposition parties expressed concern over the manner in which the state government is handling sensitive matters.
“This government is highly insensitive and thinks that registering a case or arresting a man in a rape case is its only responsibility, nothing beyond it. If arresting accused persons is everything, then why does the number of rape cases rise in the state? Between June 2024 and July 2025, the state has registered 2,933 rape cases and 8,270 kidnapping cases. There is no end to such heinous crimes,” Congress MLA Ashok Das said.
He alleged that the state’s BJP government often tries to escape by blaming the previous governments.
“I do not say that rapes did not happen during the previous regimes. The party in power should understand that we are in the opposition not for doing justice to victims in the past. You are committing the same mistake and try to escape without taking responsibility,” Das said.
Referring to state government’s claim of adopting “zero tolerance” against rape cases, the Congress leader said, “The people do not want ‘zero tolerance’, they demand ‘zero incident’ (rape).”
Das urged the state government to change its “escaping nature” and sincerely work to ensure safety of women in the state. “If 15 women are raped in the state, what is the point of the government maintaining ‘zero tolerance’ policy?” he asked.
BJD legislator Goutam Buddha Das also slammed the BJP government and pointed out some cases, including one in Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s native Keonjhar district, where accused persons were not arrested in the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl.
“The government is making all efforts to cover up its inefficiencies, particularly in rape cases,” he alleged.
The BJD leader alleged that the police were unable to chase the criminals because they are preoccupied with VIP duties. “The BJP people are now running police stations and the culprits go free,” he said.
Malkangiri MLA Mangu Khila alleged that incidents of rapes are very frequent in the tribal dominated Malkangiri district, and the government has no such effort to stop it.
BJP MLAs Babu Singh and Irasis Acharya countered the opposition allegations and accused the opposition parties of politicising crimes and defaming Odisha.
Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, while replying to the House on behalf of the chief minister, who is also in charge of home department, rejected the opposition allegation and said that three minor girls were allegedly misbehaved by a 48-year-old man on November 23 in Malkangiri district.
“The victims’ families lodged an FIR November 25. Police registered a case under the POCSO Act, collected forensic evidence, recorded statements, and arrested the accused on November 26. The BJP government all along give priority to women’s safety,” the minister said, adding that there has been a rise in the rate of conviction in rape cases since the saffron party came to power.
Harichandan claimed that crimes against women have declined since BJP formed government in the state last year. “Rape cases have dropped by 3.3 per cent, acid attacks by 66.7 per cent, and dowry-related crimes by 20.6 per cent,” the minister said.
He also noted that over 9,000 police and fire department personnel were recruited in the past 15 months, women and child desks operate in all 649 police stations, 71 child-friendly stations, and 24 special POCSO courts have become functional.