The Congress on Monday appealed to the Supreme Court to take notice of the suspicious accident involving the Unnao rape survivor, and urged it to take over investigations into the rape case.
Protests from the Opposition members over the issue led to a brief adjournment in the Rajya Sabha. Six Congress members in the Lok Sabha moved an adjournment motion to discuss the issue of law and order in Uttar Pradesh. The motion was disallowed by Speaker Om Birla.
BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar is the main accused in the Unnao rape case, and is charged with assaulting a 17-year-old girl two years ago.
On Sunday, the rape survivor was seriously injured after a truck hit the vehicle in which she, along with her lawyer and her two aunts, were travelling to Rae Bareli. The two older women were killed in the accident. The personal security officer assigned to the survivor was not accompanying her.
The number plate of the truck was smeared with black paint, making identification difficult.
Tacit support
“All this indicates that without the support and encouragement of the Uttar Pradesh government, nobody will dare to do this... We want the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice and take over the investigations,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
Raising the matter during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Samajwadi Party member Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that an attempt was made to “kill” the rape victim.
As soon as Mr. Yadav raised the issue, almost the entire Opposition, including those of the SP, the BSP, the Congress and the AAP, were on their feet.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu said he had asked the Union Home Minister to take note of the matter but after protesting members did not yield, Mr Naidu adjourned the House till noon. “This has caused a national outrage and raises fundamental question about the rule of law in U.P. What has happened is extremely cruel and unacceptable,” Congress Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma told The Hindu .
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig at the Modi government’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” scheme.
“Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. A new special education bulletin for Indian women. Don’t ask questions if a BJP MLA is accused of having raped you,” Mr. Gandhi tweeted and tagged a media report on the accident.
Congress general secretary for eastern U.P. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked why the BJP had not yet expelled the accused lawmaker.
“What is the BJP waiting for? Why has this man not been expelled from their party even when his name is in the latest FIR in the Unnao rape case,” she asked in a tweet.
The Congress also raised the issue of a former Indian Army captain being beaten to death in Amethi.
