Odisha college student death: Rahul Gandhi says country wants answers not PM's silence
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday hit out at the BJP after the Odisha college student who set herself ablaze following alleged sexual harassment by a professor died, with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying the country wants answers and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence".
Gandhi's remarks came after the Odisha college student died at AIIMS in Bhubaneswar. The second-year integrated B.Ed student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Balasore, died on Monday night, after fighting for her life for three days.
She took the extreme step on Saturday over alleged inaction against the professor and suffered 95 per cent burns.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said the death of a daughter fighting for justice in Odisha is a "direct murder by the BJP system".
That brave student raised her voice against sexual exploitation -- but instead of justice, she was threatened, harassed and humiliated repeatedly, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
Those who were supposed to protect her, kept oppressing her, Gandhi said.
"Like every time, the BJP system kept protecting the accused - and forced an innocent daughter to set herself on fire," he said.
"This is not suicide, it is an organised murder by the system," Gandhi alleged.
"Modi ji, be it Odisha or Manipur - the daughters of the country are burning, breaking down, dying. And you? Are sitting silent. The country does not want your silence, it wants answers," the former Congress president said.
The daughters of India want security and justice, Gandhi added.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the daughter of Odisha, who had given up hope of justice from the BJP government, has also left this world.
"Just 20 years old... the mere thought of what that girl must have gone through sends shivers down the spine. How helpless she must have felt on her own campus. The rotten system of the BJP broke her to such an extent that she took the painful step of setting herself on fire," Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X.
She pleaded for help everywhere -- from the college principal to the MP and the chief minister but her pleas went unheard, he said.
"In the BJP government, the voices of women victims of crime are not being heard. And how could they be—those entrusted with their protection are now standing hand in hand with the oppressors," Ramesh alleged.
Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal also slammed the BJP over the death of the college student.
"The law and order situation in Odisha is collapsing every day. Even educational institutions are turning into dangerous places for women -- with cries of help and justice falling of deaf ears. It became so unbearable that a young student was forced to immolate herself, and she succumbed to the injuries today," he said.
The BJP has a horrible track record of shielding the assaulters and neglecting the plight of women, he claimed.
"We demand accountability for this horrific situation, and we will not rest until justice is served and the perpetrators of this unspeakable crime are given the harshest punishment," Venugopal said.
The woman was first admitted to the Balasore district hospital and then shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for advanced treatment. She was undergoing treatment in the ICU, Department of Burn Centre, according to officials.
"The patient was resuscitated with IV fluids, IV antibiotics, intubated and put on mechanical ventilation. Despite adequate resuscitation and all possible supportive management, including renal replacement therapy at the Burns ICU, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 pm on July 14," the Department of Burn Centre said in a statement.
ओडिशा में इंसाफ़ के लिए लड़ती एक बेटी की मौत, सीधे-सीधे BJP के सिस्टम द्वारा की गई हत्या है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 15, 2025
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Karnataka Health Dept bars leave for staff amid ASHA workers’ strike starting Aug 12
Bengaluru, Aug 11 (PTI): In response to a planned three-day strike by ASHA workers starting August 12, the Karnataka Health Department on Monday issued a notice prohibiting all officers and staff from taking leave during the protest period, except in cases of medical emergencies.
Accredited Social Health Activists workers are demanding the fixed honorarium of Rs 10,000 promised by the state government in January. They have announced a continuous state-level protest from August 12 to 14.
The notice stated, “Information about ASHA workers absent from duty within district limits will be collected daily from primary health centres, compiled at the district level, and submitted to the commissionerate by 3 pm during the protest.”
The Health Department also urged community health officers, primary health protection officers, health inspectors, and Anganwadi workers to cooperate in ensuring that health services to the public remain uninterrupted.
