Bhubaneswar: The Biju Mahila Janata Dal on Wednesday came down heavily on Chief Minister Mohan Majhi for releasing the video of his conversation with the Odia medical student, who was allegedly gangraped in West Bengal’s Durgapur on October 10.
Senior leaders of the women wing of the BJD argued that releasing the survivor’s identity and making her recorded conversation public violates the Supreme Court guidelines.
Addressing a presser at Shankha Bhavan, senior general secretary Tukuni Sahu said that the law and order situation in the state has rapidly deteriorated in the last 15 month under the BJP rule. “Incidents of rape, gangrape, misconduct, and murder are grabbing headlines almost daily. While the CM has shown little concern over the increasing crimes against women in the state, the manner in which the recording of his conversation with the survivor was made public is even more condemnable,” she said.
Biju Mahila Janata Dal general secretary Sumitra Jena said that the victim’s identity or any conversation with her should not be made public as per the Supreme Court guidelines. “Hence, the Chief Minister has violated the apex court’s guidelines by circulating the recording,” she added.
General Secretary and Rajya Sabha member Sulata Deo questioned the CM’s silence with regards to cases of rape and gangrapes in the state. “His sudden interest in the West Bengal case is politically motivated. Both the state and national commissions for women have met the young woman in West Bengal, but they have never been so active when similar cases are reported in Odisha. When BJP MLA Santosh Khatua made indecent remarks about a BJD leader, the matter was reported to both the commissions, yet neither took any action. It is unfortunate that instead of ensuring justice for victims, the BJP and the state government are politicising their pain,” she said.
Senior General Secretary Lekhasri Samantsinghar added that the way BJP leaders, including Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, rushed to West Bengal to meet the survivor, it felt like a scene of “rape tourism.”