Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 8 May: BJP has today accused the Congress of playing the role of a “main conspirator” in the Champawat fake rape case and alleged that the opposition party attempted to malign the image of the BJP organisation and the state government by taking political advantage of an alleged false incident.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s state headquarters here, today, BJP state general secretary Deepti Rawat asserted that the entire episode was part of a well-planned conspiracy allegedly executed with the intention of settling scores. She claimed that the Congress is trying to damage the image of the BJP organisation and the government under the guise of a baseless incident.
Rawat also targeted the Congress state in-charge and said that as a woman leader she should take cognisance of what the BJP described as “anti-women conduct” by Congress leaders in the state and ask them to publicly apologise.
Referring to the alleged fake rape case that surfaced in Champawat on 5 May, Rawat said the Congress has displayed an irresponsible, insensitive and shameful attitude over the issue. She also claimed that the initial police investigation and the statements made by the affected girl have now made it ‘crystal clear’ that the entire matter was part of a pre-planned conspiracy carried out with the intention of revenge.
Rawat alleged that Congress state president Ganesh Godiyal and other senior Congress leaders had attempted to derive political mileage from the controversy by targeting the BJP organisation and the state government. She alleged that the person whose name was emerging prominently in the entire episode, Anand Mehra, was a Congress leader who had been constantly changing his statements during the course of the Police investigation.
Rawat also claimed that the manner in which allegations are now being levelled even against the girl herself indicated that the alleged conspiracy was linked to political ambitions and preparations for contesting elections. Taking a swipe at Anand Mehra and Kamal Bisht, she said that instead of indulging in baseless allegations and counter-allegations, they should have focussed on positive politics.
The BJP leader strongly demanded a public apology from the Congress party and its state president for allegedly spreading misinformation and indulging in propaganda in the matter. She also challenged the Congress state in-charge to condemn what she termed as ‘politics of lies and conspiracy’ being pursued by the state Congress leadership on a sensitive issue concerning women. Rawat said that as a woman leader, she should ensure that Congress leaders publicly apologise for their conduct.
Rawat further demanded strict action against all those allegedly involved in the episode and accused the Congress of resorting to conspiracies out of political frustration after being repeatedly rejected by the public. According to her, the Champawat incident was a living example of such politics. She alleged that attempts had been made to falsely implicate a BJP worker in a fabricated and heinous case and claimed that Congress leaders started defaming the BJP and its workers without waiting for investigation or concrete facts.
Rawat alleged that the sole objective of the Congress was to tarnish the image of the BJP organisation and the Chief Minister’s constituency by any means possible. She said such “negative and conspiratorial politics” was not new for the Congress and claimed that within the first four months of the current year, this was the third major incident in which attempts had allegedly been made to malign the image of the BJP government and organisation.
She referred to an incident in January involving senior Congress leader Tilak Raj Behar’s son and claimed that the attack on him was self-orchestrated, but allegations were nevertheless levelled against the BJP government to create a political issue in that case too. She also referred to the recent controversy over a viral letter allegedly linked to MLA Arvind Pandey and alleged that despite Pandey himself denying the authenticity of the letter, Congress leaders continued to circulate and share their allegations through social media and public statements.
According to Rawat, the Congress is now extending the same political strategy in the Champawat incident as well. She further alleged that, in the past too, attempts had been made to tarnish Uttarakhand’s image by spreading misleading information regarding the state’s revered shrines, crime statistics and development indicators.
The BJP State General Secretary also asserted that the repeated attempts to damage the BJP’s image indicated that these are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate political experiment. Rawat added that the most unfortunate aspect was that such politics is allegedly being pursued at the cost of the image of the state and its women.
Rawat further stated the people of Uttarakhand are closely observing the developments and would give a political reply to the Congress in the 2027 Assembly elections by ensuring a decisive victory for the BJP.
She also clarified that the legal process in the matter is still underway and said that the names of all those involved in the alleged conspiracy would emerge soon. According to her, strict action would be taken against anyone found involved after a fair investigation.
Those present on this occasion included State Mahila Morcha president Ruchi Bhatt, state co-media in-charge Kamlesh Raman, Mahila Morcha media in-charge Divya Negi and Mahila Morcha spokesperson Lakshmi Agrawal.
