Hathras Rape Case: Mother India’s Questions
The brutal case of rape and murder that took place in Hatharas, Uttar Pradesh, is being compared to the ‘Nirbhaya’ incident in Delhi. But the Hathras incident appears more terrible and barbaric than the Nirbhaya case. The latter at least did not have any social or political dimensions and no attempt was made to shield the accused. When people all over the country hit the streets in protest against the Nirbhaya incident, the government did not curb the protests. The rape charge was proved in the court which sentenced them to death. For those who question the need to identify the victim in the Hatharas incident as a ‘Dalit woman’, the answer lies in the way the two incidents have played out. There was no political interference in the ‘Nirbhaya’ case as the perpetrators of the crime did not belong to upper caste or class. At the same time, the victim was not a Dalit. Instead, she was an urban educated woman. The perpetrators of the crime were migrant laborers without any influence to wield which helped the police investigate the case rather boldly. This is not how the incidents around the present case are unfolding. The reason being the victim here is from the Dalit community and the perpetrators of the crime belong to the upper castes.
Instead of getting the perpetrators punished, the Uttar Pradesh government has filed cases against those who are demanding the case to be investigated duly and the guilty punished. Cases have been filed against leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka, and Chandrashekar Azad. Attempts are being made to project protests as part of an international conspiracy to defame the government. Dropping the investigations against the incident of rape, the police seem more interested in investigating the international conspiracy angle. The Uttar Pradesh government and the BJP leaders in Delhi are also dubbing the protest by the opposition leaders as ‘politics’. This is strange because the main role of Opposition parties is to protest the anti-people policies of the ruling party and to warn the government when the people suffer injustice in the hands of the powerful. It is the responsibility of the Opposition to raise its voice against injustice being done to the Hatharas rape victim. When Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka protest seeking justice, how does it become political? If this is the case, what would we have called the silence that could have allowed injustice to the victim? Isn’t such silence also political? The Uttar Pradesh government that sees ‘an international conspiracy to topple the government’ is silent over the conspiracy to hush up the truth in the case. Or, is it covertly a part of the conspiracy? The Hathras case is not merely an atrocity against a woman but an assault on ‘Mother India’. Today, she is posing uncomfortable questions to the government. The Uttar Pradesh Government should at least answer her questions to save its face.
Why didn’t the police file a complaint soon after the death of the victim and come forward to get the medical examination conducted to establish rape? The police filed a complaint only after people hit the streets and questioned them. The FIR did not refer to the act of rape. Who stopped the police from doing this? Why was the woman’s body burnt in haste? Do the police have the authority to cremate the body without taking the consent of the family? Were not the police preventing the possibility of a second post-mortem, which the investigation might demand, by cremating the body? Whose order was this? The police prevented anyone from even meeting the victim’s family. Was this done to protect the victim’s family or was the family kept forcibly confined to their home to protect the accused? It is the chief minister’s basic responsibility to meet the victim’s family and hear them out. In the Nirbhaya incident, many political leaders met the victim’s family and the government took care of the entire cost of the victim’s treatment. But in the Hathras incident, not even a single minister visited the family. Even as the case was being investigated, police officials issued a statement that the victim was not raped. But the medico-legal examination report of Aligarh’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital has denied the police version. Then, against whom has the conspiracy been hatched? Is it against the government? Or is it against the Dalit family that has been subject to injustice?
The government has filed cases against hundreds of protestors. At the same time, some people from the upper caste are protesting and demanding the release of the accused held by the police. So far, no cases have been filed against these protesters from the upper-castes. The demand to release the accused is a tactic to divert the investigation. Why has the police adopted a soft approach towards these protests in favour of the accused? An Uttar Pradesh BJP legislator has tried to portray the victim as the accused by giving a statement that ‘rapes can be prevented only if girls are taught good cultural values.’ He seems to be suggesting that the victim did not have good values. Why has the government not taken any action against this legislator? Another Uttar Pradesh leader has said that the ‘accused might not be guilty of all that is being alleged against them.’ Why doesn’t the rape and subsequent murder of a women seem serious enough to this leader? These are the questions that ‘Mother India’ is asking. When a government stands in support of the accused, such a government should not be allowed to continue in power in the interest of the country. In such a situation, even if the protests were to be part of a conspiracy to remove the government, this conspiracy is necessary in a democratic set up. Before Uttar Pradesh is named officially the ‘rape capital’, it is important that Adityanath is removed from the Chief Minister’s post and the dignity of women upheld. BJP leaders who worship India as ‘Mother’ should immediately pay attention to the plight of women in the country.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
