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FM slams Karnataka govt over Belagavi incident, says there is no ‘nyay’ in Cong
Observing that it was not satisfied with the actions taken by the government and the state police, the Karnataka high court came down heavily over its failure to prevent the incident and directed the state government to submit an additional status report
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday criticised the Congress-ruled Karnataka government for allowing atrocities against the downtrodden, particularly those belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), citing the recent incident in Belagavi in which a 42-year-old woman was allegedly assaulted and paraded naked.
The alleged incident took place on December 11 after the woman’s son eloped with a girl who was going to get engaged to someone else.
“In @INCIndia there is no ‘nyay’ for the SCs and STs. The recent incident in Belgavi, Karnataka falls in the same category as those repeated atrocities against the Dalits seen till recently in Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. For Congress, the downtrodden are just a vote bank,” Sitharaman posted on X.
Her post also contained a detailed note of the incident and observations of the Karnataka high court.
“In a very shocking incident, on the intervening night of 10th and 11th December 2023, a 42-year-old woman was stripped naked, paraded and assaulted after being tied to an electric pole in Karnataka’s Belagavi district after her son eloped with a girl,” the note said.
“This incident has significantly amplified concerns regarding the effectiveness of law enforcement and the overall state of law and order in Karnataka,” it said.
Observing that it was not satisfied with the actions taken by the government and the state police, the Karnataka high court came down heavily over its failure to prevent the incident and directed the state government to submit an additional status report on whether proper counselling was provided to her, and why the remaining accused persons have not yet been arrested.
Eight people have been arrested so far in connection with the incident while the police are searching for another eight people for their alleged involvement.
Condemning the incident, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Friday constituted a five-member fact-finding committee.
Calling the incident ‘shameful’, Nadda said such heinous crimes have been happening at regular intervals since the Congress came to power in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Karnataka government saying the purported act, as reported, seems to have a “stereotyped patriarchal approach”, which is a clear demonstration of the violation of the right to life and dignity of the victim.
On Tuesday (December 12) Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara assured the assembly that strict action will be taken against the culprits who allegedly assaulted a woman, paraded her naked and tied her to an electric pole in a village in Belagavi.
