Mounting an attack on the BJP after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on the Manipur situation, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said nothing was more important than the safety and dignity of women. Mr. Modi had made a reference to the incidents in Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh while condemning the sexual violence in Manipur.
In an apparent reply to Mr. Modi, Mr. Gehlot said the three accused in a recent gang rape incident in Jodhpur were arrested in just two hours. “On the other hand, it took 77 days for the BJP to nab just one accused in the shameful incident of Manipur violence,” Mr. Gehlot tweeted on July 20.
A minor Dalit girl was allegedly gang raped by three persons on the Jai Narain Vyas University campus in Jodhpur on July 16. The police claimed that the three accused were members of the BJP’s student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), canvassing for a student leader seeking a ticket for the students’ union elections in the university.
“Time taken to deal with a crime – Congress (two hours), BJP (77 days),” Mr. Gehlot said. He said it was very sad that the violence in Manipur was not stopping. “The entire country is worried about this. Because of the negligence of the BJP, 142 people have died in Manipur so far,” he remarked.
Taking a dig at the BJP, Mr. Gehlot said the people in Rajasthan, who were watching the situation in Manipur, were asking why the BJP governments did not know how to maintain law and order.
