PM’s statement on Kathua and Unnao rapes would work as a strong deterrent to discourage such gruesome crimes

Prime minister Narendra Modi’s outburst slamming the obnoxious and dastardly Kathua n Unnao rapes lead to the resignation of two ministers in the PDP BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir. The statement of prime minister Narendra Modi on the most shameful and agonising Kathua rape and murder, though bit late, is definitely a very welcome statement assuring the countrymen that the dignity, modesty and life of minor girls and women in particular would be protected and safeguarded at all costs and the culprits of such heinous crimes would be accorded the harshest of the punishment, however influential or with clout he is.

Such a strong and unambiiguous statement from a prime minister’s mouth surely sends a healthy message across the country, especially to the law enforcing agencies of the country and to those squeezed minded politicians who try to capitalise such serious and sensitive issues to derive maximum political advantage and communalise the situation to the advantage of the criminals and culprits involved in such gruesome acts. The Congress President Rahul Gandhi too appreciated the statement of prime minister on the kathua incident but asked him as to when would he inititate action against such heinous acts. Similarly in Uttar Pradesh the saffron clad chief minister Yogi Adityanath while responding to the media query assured the state’s electorates that the zero tolerance formula would be applied in every case of women rape, molestation and crime against women and said that the criminal being however big, influential or with political clout would not be spared at any cost.

Though the statement of Yogi Adityanath came after the high court issued directives to the CBI to arrest the BJP MLA charged with rape of an 18 year old girl including alleged murder of her father in police lock up, but still the statement goes against all those lawmakers of the state who are involved in fishy deals and carry criminal backgrounds. The erring MLA was grilled for 16 hours and put behind bars by the CBI who’s been given the vexed case. The cases of the Kathua rape and horendous murder of 8 year old Bakkerwal community muslim girl in a temple after being given acute quantity of sedatives has assumed national and international proportion which finally led prime minister issue the statement of assurance to the vulnerable girls and women of the country. The two BJP ministers in the Mehbooba Mufti government has already tendered their resignation who’d addressed the public meeting of the Hindu Ekta Manch convened to favor the culprits on communal lines leading to the supposed divide of the society.

It may be recalled that the 8 year old muslim Bakkerwal community’s girl Asifa was brutally killed after being gangraped in a temple at Jammu’s Kathua few months ago. Bakkerwal’s belong to the nomadic tribes who survive on the business of sheeps and take huge green pastures on lease for grazing from the Hindus of the area. After the gruesome rape and murder, the incident assumed communal proportions with some ministers and lawyers of Jammu siding with the culprits saying that the police has arbitrarily arrested the innocents.

The agitating lawyers even did’nt allowed the counsel of the prosecutrix to appear in the court. Meanwhile the Supreme court of India has issued directives to the agitating lawyers of Jammu prohibiting them from stopping the lawyers of the prosecutrix appearing in the Jammu High Court against the culprits.
SUNIL NEGI