LUCKNOW: Even as the UP government announced financial relief of Rs 25 lakh and a house to the bereaved family of the Unnao rape victim who died at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi late on Friday night, the opposition attacked the Yogi regime over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
While the Congress scored a political point by holding a day-long agitation in the state capital Lucknow, party general secretary and UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was the first to reach out to the victim’s family in Unnao. She was closely followed by Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj along with Yogi government ministers Swami Prasad Maurya and Rani Varun who also met the bereaved family, assured them of
the strictest punishment to all the five accused and promised them Rs 25 lakh and a house.
In Lucknow, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav sat on a dharna in front of Lok Bhawan—the Chief Minister’s office in protest against the Unnao incident and BSP chief Mayawati met Governor Anandiben Patel seeking directions to the Yogi Adityanath government to take measures to ensure the safety and security of women in the state.
Speaking to the media after meeting the family of the victim, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj flanked by UP cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya said the state government was standing firmly beside the bereaved family. “We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring strictest punishment to those who set the victim ablaze. It is an unfortunate incident and I have been vocal about it in Parliament also. The perpetrators will not be let off at any cost. We will do everything to ensure justice to the family as Unnao’s name has been maligned across the nation,” said Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj adding that anyone who tried to protect the culprits would also be dealt with an iron fist.
Earlier, launching a scathing attack on the state government over the law and order situation, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed that the accused's family was connected to the BJP and was being given patronage. After meeting the family of the deceased rape victim, she said that the accused had physically assaulted the woman's father and had been threatening her uncle and even a 10-year-old girl in the family for over a year. The Congress leader said that women were very insecure in Uttar Pradesh under the present dispensation which had failed in maintaining law and order.
Meanwhile, former CM and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav called it a "black day" and slammed the Yogi Adityanath government over the deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh while sitting on a dharna on Saturday.
"The incident has pained us all deeply, even the doctors couldn't save the girl. Samajwadi Party will observe this day as Black Day and protest against the death of the rape victim tomorrow (Sunday). This is not the first of its kind incident in this government. The Yogi Aditynath government is solely responsible
for the death of the victim. The women of the state are unsafe till the time the CM, Home Secretary and DGP are sitting on their posts. The accused in this case are related to the ruling BJP," Yadav said.
BSP chief Mayawati met the UP Governor saying she was a woman and that she could understand the pain of other women as the UP government didn’t look very concerned. “I requested the governor to fulfil her constitutional obligations to stop such incidents of crimes against women and urged her to take time-bound
action if the state is not doing so,” said the former UP CM.
The post-mortem report of the 30-year-old woman confirmed that she had suffered 90 per cent burns and died of cardiac arrest at the Safdarjung Hospital at 11:40 pm on Friday night.