Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday slammed the BJP President Nadda for politicising the horrifying incident in which a mother was paraded naked on the streets in Belagavi city of the state.
He said that under BJP rule, Karnataka witnessed multiple instances of violence against women but Nadda has forgotten all of them. “Unfortunately, Nadda is using the Belagavi incident for politics,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that the Belagavi incident is highly condemnable.
“It is shameful that BJP President Nadda is politising such an incident for political gains,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that as soon as the Belagavi incident came to light, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara and Minister of Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar visited the survivor’s home not only to console her but also to provide compensation.
“The police have apprehended the culprits within 24 hours and put them behind the bars. I am personally overseeing the investigation. Our government is committed to ensuring that such inhumane acts do not occur by meting out strict punishment to the guilty,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that the state BJP leaders are also satisfied with the measures taken by the state government.
“However, Nadda has now made sudden remarks and his attempt to stir up this case four days after the incident indicate a political motive rather than genuine concern for the victim,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that if Nadda genuinely had cared for women, he would have taken action against the previous BJP government for failing to protect the women.
He said that as per NCRB, there were 17,813 cases of violence against women in Karnataka during the last year (2022) of BJP rule, compared to 14,468 cases the previous year in 2021.
“What was the BJP President doing then? Was he in exile? Did he not notice the increasing cases of violence against women under their own government year after year?” the Chief Minister questioned.
He said that from Manipur to Gujarat, from Uttar Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh, wherever BJP is in power, the cases of violence against women are increasing, as reported by the NCRB.
“These cases prove that BJP is inherently anti-woman,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that the internal disputes within the state BJP are escalating while denting the party’s reputation.
“Senior BJP leaders are making serious allegations against the party president and opposition leaders. If Nadda has the courage and power, he should send an investigating committee to look into these allegations,” the Chief Minister said.
On December 10, a 42-year-old woman, a resident of Vantamuri village was dragged outside her home by the family members of a girl with whom Kamalavva’s son had allegedly eloped.
She was stripped naked, paraded and finally tied to an electric pole and assaulted.
Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara rushed to visit the victim at the Belagavi District Hospital, inquiring about her health condition. He gathered details about the incident from her and later visited her house in Vantamuri village as well.
The Karnataka High Court strongly criticised the Congress government for the failure of the police department to prevent the incident.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice P.B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit, remarked on December 14: “What will be the fear among other women? They will feel unsafe. It did not even happen in Mahabharata. Draupadi had Lord Krishna who came up to help her, but in the modern world, no one came to help her. Unfortunately, this is a world of Duryodhanas and Dushyasanas.”
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