Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, Brinda Karat, on Saturday sought political accountability from the Union Government’s side for the rape of the 23-year-old, while also demanding the suspension of the policemen responsible for the law and order loophole which resulted in the rape.
“When lathi charge and tear gas are being used on a peaceful crowd of thousands, it shows the total absence of the Government. After such a deplorable incident, one is forced to ask where is the Government. Who is accountable for this city?” said Ms. Karat, who was also present at the site of protest.
“Let the Prime Minister speak up and take responsibility for the complete breakdown of the government and law and order situation, especially in the context of this gruesome incident,” Ms. Karat said while demanding that “action has to be taken against the policemen for their dereliction of duty which resulted in the rape.” She was not alone in condemning the way police reacted against the peaceful protesters. The National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), a cultural group, also expressed its shock at the “completely unwarranted manner in which citizens from different walks of life exercising their democratic right to peacefully protest were lathi charged and subjected to tear gas and water canons outside the gates of the Rashtrapati Bhavan today.”
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While demanding an apology from the Government for this “insensitive show of power,” the Federation asked in a statement: “Why, when all the perpetrators of this heinous crime have been caught, the legal process is taking so long to punish the guilty.”