Bihar rapes: Oppn to stall house till minister goes, her husband arrested
Patna, July 26: The opposition in Bihar on Thursday demanded the resignation of Social Welfare Minister Kumari Manju Verma and the arrest of her husband in connection with the alleged rape of over 40 minor girls in a shelter home in Muzaffarpur district.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) along with the Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML) members staged protests in and outside the state assembly, and raised slogans for the fourth consecutive day.
Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary adjourned the House till 2 p.m. following the disruption.
The RJD and CPI-ML legislators have demanded the resignation of Verma and her husband's arrest and have made it clear that they would not allow the House to function till it happens.
The opposition's demand comes following an allegation made by the wife of one of the accused who said her husband, a government official, was falsely implicated to shield the Verma's husband, who frequented the facility and spent "long hours in the girls' rooms" at the shelter home.
Shibha Kumari, wife of Muzaffarpur District Child Protection Officer Ravi Roshan, who was arrested a month ago, said that the Minister's husband's role must be probed.
Verma, however, has refuted the allegations against her husband. On Thursday, she said as the state government has recommended a CBI probe into the case, everything would be investigated and the guilty would be punished.
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We need to create system in which people's skills get their due: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Friday called for creating a system in which people's skills get their due and everyone's contribution is respected, as he shared a Diwali video in which he interacts with paint job workers and potters.
Posting the over nine-minute video which features him also having a conversation with his nephew Raihan Rajiv Vadra on YouTube, the former Congress chief said, "A memorable Diwali with special people - I celebrated this Diwali working with some painter brothers and making earthen diyas with a potter family."
"I saw their work closely, tried to learn their skills and understood their difficulties and problems. They don't go home. We celebrate festivals happily and to earn some money, they forget their village, city, family," Gandhi said.
"They make happiness from clay. While lighting up the festivals of others, are they able to live in light themselves? Those who build houses can hardly run their own houses!" he said.
Gandhi said Diwali means light that can remove the darkness of poverty and helplessness.
"We have to create such a system -- in which people's skills get their due and contribution is respected -- makes everyone's Diwali a happy one. I hope this Diwali brings prosperity, progress and love in the lives of all of you," he said.
In the video, Gandhi is seen working with labourers at the 10 Janpath residence and learning to paint walls along with his nephew. In the second part of the video, Gandhi goes to the house of a woman who makes earthen lamps with her five daughters.
Gandhi tries his hand at pottery and makes 'diyas', which he says he would give to his mother and sister.
Since his Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra and his Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi has been interacting with a cross-section of people from mechanics and cobblers to labourers and bus drivers.
He often posts videos of his numerous interactions and highlights the plight of various sections of society.
