BHUBANESWAR: The BJP on Thursday slammed the Opposition over the statewide bandh called to protest the death of a girl student of Balasore’s FM (Autonomous) College, stating the Congress and the BJD should introspect and analyse track record on women’s safety during their governments.
Addressing the media at the state party office here, Bhubaneswar MP and national party spokesperson Aparajita Sarangi said, “It seems the prime objective of the Opposition is to stay in news and relevant. Had the Congress and the BJD worked for women’s safety and empowerment during their 40 years and 24 years rule in the state respectively, such a situation would not have arisen today.”
Coming down heavily on the previous governments, specially the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government, Aparajita said despite numerous incidents of violence against women during their tenures, neither the BJD nor Congress took sufficient action or ever visited the victims.
“On the other hand, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi took prompt and strong steps to address the recent incident of a student attempting self-immolation due to alleged harassment. Apart from visiting the girl twice during her treatment in AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, the chief minister took immediate action against the college principal and the associate professor, the prime accused in the case, by putting them under suspension first and later sending them to judicial custody,” the BJP MP said.
“Never before had any President of India visited a patient undergoing treatment in a hospital after a self-immolation bid. President Droupadi Murmu who attended the convocation ceremony of AIIMS, took the opportunity to enquire about the victim’s treatment at the hospital and met with her family members, showing her concern and care for them,” Aparajita added.
The BJP MP further targeted the Opposition alleging their workers provoked the girl to commit suicide since she was not getting any help from the college authorities or others. She brought serious allegations, including a post that suggested some political parties wrote on social media, “If no one listens to you, Soumyashree, then go ahead and commit suicide”.
Aparajita further reiterated that the state government stands in solidarity with the families of the victim girls and all other women of the state. She assured that the guilty will get the strictest of punishment.