Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 13 Nov: Senior BJP MLA from Dharampur and party’s state spokesman, Vinod Chamoli today claimed that the Congress, which is making a show of fighting for women’s dignity, needs to abandon its double standards. In a statement issued today, Chamoli said that the party, which is currently organising a Nyay Yatra, should set aside its political lens and also pay attention to victims associated with its own senior leadership.
Reacting to a statement by Leader of the Opposition Yashpal Arya, Chamoli said that the entire process in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, from investigation to conviction, has been witnessed by everyone. He said the investigating agencies had examined all the facts and that all the accused are behind the bars, serving life imprisonment. Chamoli added that despite this reality, the Congress is treating the matter as a political opportunity and has forgotten even basic decorum while engaging in allegations and counter-allegations.
Chamoli said several incidents had come to light during Congress rule and allegations had been levelled against Congress leaders themselves, who would have to answer for them. He said that from Jyoti to a former zila panchayat chief, those who had expressed their pain can’t be blamed on the BJP. He alleged that the Jyoti incident had occurred during Congress rule and that in 2015, a case of rape and abortion involving a mute and deaf inmate of Nari Niketan had come to light. He said nine persons were convicted in that case, though allegations were also made that some influential people had sought to suppress the matter under the protection of power.
Advising the Congress, which is demanding a white paper on atrocities against women, Chamoli said it should also try to raise the suppressed voices of women on whom senior leaders have maintained silence so far. He alleged that those who were suppressing such voices are themselves involved in new cases of atrocities against women. He said the law would act on the allegations made by Jyoti, but the Congress should seek an answer from Jyoti herself rather than from the BJP.
Chamoli said the Congress would not succeed in its alleged plan to use the Ankita Bhandari issue as a shield to reach power. He said that in all the cases of atrocities against women reported in the state so far, the accused are either in jail or serving punishment. He said the Congress can’t level unethical allegations by treating these cases as a failure of law and order. He added that senior Congress leaders need to break their silence.
