Bhubaneswar: The rising incidents of sexual assaults against minor girls in the state rocked the Assembly once again Wednesday even as the Congress and BJP staged protests outside the House here over the issue.
In the Assembly, the Opposition BJP and the Congress came down heavily on the government over the alleged failure of the state government to check the sexual abuse of minor girls while participating in a debate on the admissibility of an adjournment motion on the issue.
The issue was raised after the Zero Hour with the legislators discussing the possibility of moving an adjournment motion in the House for a full-fledged debate on cases of missing children and rape of minors in Odisha.
Speaker Surya Narayan Patro allowed a discussion on the twin issues in view of the ruckus created by the BJP and the Congress MLAs in the past two days, seeking resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over alleged increase of violence against minors.
Rejecting the contention that the state has seen an “alarming increase” in rape cases in the recent times, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha said the number has declined as compared to last year.
“The crime situation in the state is well within control. There has been decline in the number of rape cases by 5.9 per cent in comparison to the previous year. A total of 937 rape cases were registered in Odisha till May, 2019 against 996 cases during the corresponding period in 2018.
“Of these cases, 509 involved minor girls. Last year, the number of minor victims was 525,” the minister said.
Opposition members accused the minister of making statements to mislead the House and the people of the state.
Leader of Opposition Pradipta Naik said though the BJD government was elected to power for the fifth time in a row, it failed to maintain law and order which has collapsed. He said the law and order situation worsened as the police are working as per the whims of the ruling BJD. Criminals are not afraid of the police and committing crime at their will, he alleged.
Naik said during the last three years 3,959 cases of missing of minor girls were registered out of which 2,393 were traced.
Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra said every day seven rape cases are being reported but the minister said ‘everything is ok’. “It is very unfortunate. I condemn it,” he said.
The number of rape cases in Odisha was 1,025 in 2010 and it increased to 2,502 in 2018, he stated. “Is not it an alarming situation?” Mishra said while asking the state government to “change its attitude and mindset and work towards curbing the rape incidents”.
He demanded the government to set up an agency to find out why such crimes are going up in the state. He also demanded a House Committee be constituted to inquire into it and made necessary suggestion to stop it.
Mishra also suggested 3Ps – prevention, prosecution and punishment – be given importance, cadre public prosecutors be appointed and the law and order should be separated from investigation wing for better conviction rate. Mishra was supported by his party colleagues Santosh Singh Saluja.However, Treasury Bench members defended the government.
The minister said sensational cases against women have been tagged under the Red Flag category for the successful conduct of the cases. So far 1,263 cases have been given Red Flag status. As many as 29 special units have been set up to inquire into the incidents. The rate of conviction, Arukha claimed, has increased from 16.92 per cent in 2017 to 18.35 per cent in 2018. The agitated BJP members, however, later staged a walkout expressing their displeasure over Arukha’s reply to the motion.
