Kathua barbaric rape: Did Arun Jaitley pass insensitive comment?
Here is the fact check about the viral poster
Did the Finance Mnister Arun Jaitley pass a lowly, insensitive remark over the gang rape, torture and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua which has sparked growing outrage across the nation?
A poster with Arun Jaitley’s name and picture was being spread virally on social media platforms throughout the day on Saturday.
The content of the poster is:
The poster in Kannada language carries the heading as ‘Maanaviyathe illada mrugagalu’ (Animals without humanity). The content of the poster followed by a quote of Arun Jaitley allegedly. The tranlsation of the quote is “The rape of an eight-year-old girl is a small incident. This issue is costing India billions in tourism,” Arun Jaitley.
Mr. Jaitely, would you have spoken in the same way if your daughter was there in the same place instead of that eight year old girl? Asks the poster. The poster has been spread virally on Facebook and WatsApp.
While sharing the poster, the users commented: “Jaitley being a senior leader have behaved very irresponsibly by giving such a statement.”
When Varthabharati.in tried to check if the finance minister has truly said so, no authentic information regarding his statement was found. Even there was no such video or post on his Twitter account or any of the TV channels have telecasted it so far.
But a report has been found on NDTV’s website which was published on August 22, 2014. Here is the link https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/one-small-incident-of-rape-arun-jaitley-clarifies-after-controversy-over-remark-652203 and screenshot.
This report says about a remark passed by the senior BJP leader at a tourism ministers’ conference which had sparked a controversy. "One small incident of rape in Delhi advertised world over is enough to cost us billions of dollars in terms of global tourism," Jaitley had said while speaking at the conference.
The comment had sparked a massive outrage that Jaitley had issued an insensitive statement on the gang rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi in 2012.
Jatiley, while clarifying his statement had said, "I regret that some word that I used was construed as insensitive, that was never my intention. I have been always been very outspoken about issues relating to crime against women. I am very sensitive to these issues myself,"
At present, Jaitley who is suffering from Kidney ailment is undergoing dialyses therapy at AIIMS in Delhi. Neither he is coming to office nor has taken oath of office after being re-elected to the Rajya Sabha. It is reported that he will be taking the oath on Sunday. In these circumstances, it is too difficult to believe that he had stated about the Kathua incident.
The possibilities of miscreants modifying the 2014’s statement to circulate on social media cannot be ruled out. Many have believed the post. The support of local BJP MLA in the favor of rape accused and the prime minister making delay in condemning the heinous crime might have also forced the people to believe the Arun Jaitley’s poster to be true.
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Only 13 percent of encroached forests recovered in ten years in Karnataka: Report
Hubballi: The Karnataka Forest Department has made little progress in recovering encroached forest land, managing to reclaim only 13.6 percent of the total encroached area over the last decade.
From 2014-15 to 2024-25 (March), the department resolved 7,621 cases and recovered just 31,317 acres of forest land, as reported by Deccan Herald on Sunday.
Data cited by DH shows that nearly 2.30 lakh acres of forest land in the state were encroached upon by August 2024, with the department having filed 1.19 lakh cases against the encroachers. However, the process of clearing encroached land has been slow, primarily due to the legal procedures involved and delays in joint surveys conducted by the revenue and forest departments. The process is further delayed due to appeals by the litigants in higher courts.
In the past two years alone, the department has managed to recover just 5,113 acres of land. Environmental activist Girish D. V. from Chikkamagaluru, speaking to DH, criticised the Forest Department's handling of the issue, stating that the recovery of encroached land often happens only when directed by courts. "Forget about clearing legacy encroachments, the department is unable to prevent fresh ones. Every day, the state is losing forest land," he remarked.
An interim annual report from the Forest Department (2024) highlighted that between March and December 2024, 900 new cases of forest land encroachment were registered. Girish also pointed out that a lack of political will to clear encroachments has limited the department’s ability to prevent new ones.
Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre acknowledged the slow pace of recovery, attributing it to legal obstacles, multiple claim documents, and the livelihoods of marginal farmers. He told the news outlet that the state government was using technology, including satellite surveys, to curb new encroachments.
Khandre further emphasised that the state government has "zero tolerance" toward forest encroachments and they would go after influential persons to recover forest land. He added that they are fighting to recover leased forest land from private parties and restore it as forest land.
