Reacting to the gang-rape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh taunted Uttar Pradesh chief minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath, asking him to deal with the “jungle raj in his state, instead of advising others on how to handle law and order”.
Even as chief minister Uddhav Thackeray condemned the incident, state Congress as well as Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar condemned the manhandling of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by UP Police as he headed to meet the victim’s family.
The 19-year-old, who died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday a fortnight after she was gang-raped, was cremated in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night. “We saw Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanth giving advice to others during the past few months. I advise him to first take care of his state and initiate strict action against the jungle raj prevailing there,” said Deshmukh.
Thackeray said his government won’t tolerate Hathras-like incident in the state. “For that matter, any kind of crime against women, including harassment and molestation, would be dealt with severely,” said Thackeray.
{{/usCountry}}Thackeray said his government won’t tolerate Hathras-like incident in the state. “For that matter, any kind of crime against women, including harassment and molestation, would be dealt with severely,” said Thackeray.
{{/usCountry}}Condemning the treatment given to Gandhi, Pawar tweeted: “Reckless behaviour of UP Police towards @INCIndia leader Shri @RahulGandhi is extremely condemnable. It is reprehensible for those who are supposed to uphold the law to trample upon the democratic values in such a manner.”
Maharashtra revenue minister and Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat held the UP government guilty for the whole incident. “This incident is a blot on the country and shows the functioning of the state government,” said Thorat.
The Mumbai Congress workers, angered, held protests and sloganeered against Adityanath.