Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said the alleged harassment of a woman student by ex-Union Minister and BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand in Shahjahanpur appears to be a repetition of the Unnao case.
In a tweet, she alleged that in Uttar Pradesh, if a woman registers a complaint against a BJP leader, her security is not guaranteed. Responding to the Congress general secretary, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s media adviser Mrityunjay Kumar asked Ms. Vadra not to create a confusion and said the police have taken all the necessary steps.
The Shahjahanpur police on Tuesday lodged an FIR against Chinmayanand after the student went missing following her allegation in a video clip that he had been harassing her. The BJP leader was booked under IPC sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation)
Her father had filed a complaint with the police accusing Chinmayanand of sexually harassing her, a charge refuted by the BJP leader’s lawyer who claimed it was a “conspiracy” to blackmail him. The woman’s father alleged that she has gone missing at the behest of the 72-year-old BJP leader, who heads Mumukshu ashram. She is a post-graduate student in one of the colleges run by the ashram.
Also read | Swami Chinmayanand booked after girl alleging harassment goes missing in UP
“In Uttar Pradesh, this matter appears to be repetition of the Unnao case. If a woman complains against a BJP leader, then she is not guaranteed justice, even her own safety is not guaranteed,” Ms. Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi with the hashtag #EnoughIsEnough.
Ms. Vadra was referring to the rape charge made by a 19-year-old woman from Unnao against MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was expelled from the BJP recently. The rape survivor from Unnao and her lawyer suffered critical injuries in a car-truck collision in Rae Bareli district in Uttar Pradesh on July 28. Her two aunts died in the incident. The girl’s family alleged that the accident was an attempt to eliminate her.
Also read | Unnao case: CBI gets time till Sept. 9 to finish probe
In another tweet, Ms. Vadra said, “Not a single day passes in Uttar Pradesh when the BJP government manages to assure women that you are safe and you will get justice if anything happens with you.” She also tagged new reports of the case involving Swami Chinmayanand in support of her tweets.
“Last year, the BJP government had withdrawn a rape case against accused [Chinmayanand]. It’s clear where the government is standing. U.P. girls are watching,” Ms. Vadra said on the microblogging site.
Reacting to Ms. Vadra’s comments, Mrityunjay Kumar took to the same platform to say, “Dont create confusion Priyanka ji . U.P. police has taken all steps”.
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