Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (August 20) evaded questions on his stance on the Kolkata doctor rape-murder case which has brought the doctors protesting on the streets of the country, stating that he has visited his parliamentary constituency Rae Bareli to “seek justice for the Dalit” who was killed in Nasirabad. He said that he has “already spoken” about the West Bengal horror and would not speak about it in that place.
A trainee doctor was raped and murdered in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9, triggering massive protests by the medical fraternity across the country. Rahul Gandhi was on a day-long visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Rae Bareli to meet the family of a Dalit youth Arjun Pasi, who was shot dead nine days ago in Nasirabad.
Rahul Gandhi evades question on Kolkata
When the reporters asked him about his stand on the Kolkata incident which took place in West Bengal, a state ruled by INDIA bloc ally TMC, he said, “I am here to seek justice for the Dalit family, whose son was killed. I won’t speak on the Kolkata incident here, I have already spoken about it”. This comes as Mamata Banerjee government has been marred with allegations of “cover-up” in the case which was initially investigated by the Kolkata Police before being handed over by the Calcutta High Court to the CBI.
As the reporters pressed for his reply citing the Supreme Court’s stern observations, he remained evasive and replied, “I have come here seeking justice for Dalit family.”
“You don’t want to raise the issue of Dalits. You want to distract the issue. I am here for seeking justice for the family,” Rahul further said in a terse reply.
BJP reacts sharply
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed his “distraction” remark and asked if demanding justice for a daughter was a distraction for the Congress MP.
"When asked about the RG Kar Medical College case, and SC slamming the Bengal government and police, Rahul Gandhi shamelessly says 'I won’t be distracted'. Is Nyay for Beti a distraction? Those who speak about Sanvidhan, Ladki hoon lad sakti hoon & visit victims' homes in UP call a grave injustice “distraction” because it happened in Bengal. This is an insult to the victim & of all women," Shehzad Poonawala wrote on X.
Notably, the BJP has questioned the silence of the INDIA bloc parties over the Kolkata rape-murder case alleging “double standards”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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