Lucknow/New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party on Wednesday launched an offensive against the media and came up with weird arguments in a bid to downplay rising cases of rape in Uttar Pradesh. The Centre pulled up the Akhilesh Yadav government and asked it to “act promptly” to improve law and order.
A string of SP leaders including party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav offered strange arguments to defend his son’s administration despite its failure to stop rape cases and violence against women.
Mr Yadav said in New Delhi that the UP government was not “insensitive” and had taken action against culprits. Asked about the rise in number of rape cases in the sate he said, “You do your work and let us do our work.”
Senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said, “In many places, when the relationship between girls and boys comes out into the open, it is termed as rape.”
Another SP leader Launtan Ram Nishad claimed that the Badaun rape and murder case ‘could also be a case of honor killing which was now being projected as a rape and murder case’.
The Union home ministry reacted sharply, with MoS home Kiran Rijiju saying the onus lay with the state government. In a strongly-worded message to the Chief Minister, Mr Rijiju demanded “pro-mpt action” to stem the rising cases of violence against women. “There is nothing we can take suo motu action beca-use we have to have faith in state agencies,” he said.
While BJP MP R.K. Singh, a former home secretary, said the prevailing lawlessness in Uttar Pradesh might be a fit case for imposition of President’s Rule, Mr Rijiju, asked if this option would be considered, said, “I just cannot comment on that.”
