I’ll quit politics if my husband is guilty: Minister on Bihar shelter home scandal
Rejecting allegations against her husband Chandeshwar Verma in connection with the Muzaffarpur short stay home scandal, social welfare minister Manju Verma on Thursday said he was innocent and being falsely implicated in the matter as he belonged to the Kushwaha community.
She said the case has already been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and if her husband was found guilty, she would not only resign, but also withdraw from public life.
There have been reports of alleged involvement of the minister’s husband in Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case.
Earlier, the matter had come to light when Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) carried out a social audit of government-sponsored shelter homes for boys and girls across the state.
“At the legislative assembly today, Rabri Devi asked me to resign. Why should I do so? She is directing me to resign while she herself belongs to a family, which has criminal antecedents. Her husband has served jail term and her daughter, too, has been charged of corruption,” Verma said.
Many of her party members also have criminal background, the minister said, adding, “Raj Ballabh Yadav is in jail. We all know he is behind bars in a rape case.”
The minister said she and her husband were being implicated in the case at the instigation of the Opposition. “We are being targeted because we belong to the Kushwaha community. In fact, we have been turned into a tool to tarnish the image of the government,” she said, adding, she was the only woman in the state cabinet and has been working with responsibility.
Admitting that her husband had once visited the shelter home at Muzaffarpur, she said, “It was his first and last visit. Saheb wahan bas ek hi baar gaye the (My husband had gone there only once). In fact, he had accompanied me there.”
“We were invited to a function held in the memory of Jagdev Babu at Muzaffarpur a couple of years ago. After the function, I had visited the short stay home with my husband,” the minister said.
“Let CBI probe the matter. If found guilty, my husband will be punished. I will get him hanged. I myself will resign and withdraw from politics,” she said.
“We did not find the condition of shelter home girls satisfactory even at that time. But they did not complain or even open their mouth before me,” Verma said.
On a query over the action, if any, taken by her after the visit, the minister said she did not remember whether any action was taken. “More than two years have elapsed since the visit. In the past few years, we have been busy distributing old age pension,” she said.
The department has over hundred shelter homes but there have been no report of any irregularity at any of them, said the minister. “Even now, we have reports of irregularities at only five shelter homes while the rest of are doing well,” she added.
Verma said she did not know Brijesh Thakur, a key accused in the case. “Those who claim that Thakur was seen with my husband at Bihar Niwas, Delhi, must know the room was booked in my name. We have nothing to do with Thakur,” she said.
Earlier, the wife of an official arrested on charges of sexually assaulting inmates of the short stay home had accused social welfare department minister’s husband of frequently visiting the institution and spending “long hours in the girls’ room”.
Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com
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Donald Trump sends Diwali greetings, condemns attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh
Washington, Oct 31: Sending Diwali greetings, former president Donald Trump, who is the Republican presidential candidate, on Thursday condemned the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh, vowed to strengthen ties with India and described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his good friend.
Bangladesh, he said, remains in a total state of chaos and alleged that his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris and her boss President Joe Biden have ignored Hindus across the world and in America.
“I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
This is for the first time that Trump has spoken on the issue of Bangladesh. Hundreds of Hindus were killed in July-August in Bangladesh when a students’ agitation turned into massive protests leading to then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country on August 5.
“It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world and in America. They have been a disaster from Israel to Ukraine to our own Southern Border, but we will Make America Strong Again and bring back Peace through Strength,” he said.
“We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi,” Trump said.
“Kamala Harris will destroy your small businesses with more regulations and higher taxes. By contrast, I cut taxes, cut regulations, unleashed American energy, and built the greatest economy in history. We will do it again, bigger and better than ever before and we will Make America Great Again,” he said.
“Also, Happy Diwali to All. I hope the Festival of Lights leads to the Victory of Good over Evil,” said the former president, who is in a close fight with Harris for the November 5 presidential elections.
