PUNE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh government for the way it handled the Hathras rape incident's aftermath, saying it showed the government didn't believe in fundamental rights.
He also criticized the BJP government in the state for stopping Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from visiting the rape- and-murder victim's family.
"Not handing over the body of the victim to her family shows the UP government does not believe in the law of the land or fundamental rights," Pawar said here.
"Not handing over the body to the kin and cremating it without their consent is something which has never ever taken place in this country," he told reporters.
Actions of the UP government were wrong on "humanitarian grounds", reprehensible and condemnable, he said.
By arresting Rahul Gandhi when he was on his way to meet the victim's family showed the Yogi Adityanath government's disdain for people's rights, and "that is why the reactions that are coming in from across the country are appropriate", Pawar said.