He added that the BJP's rule in Karnataka witnessed multiple instances of violence against women, but Nadda has forgotten this.
Published Dec 16, 2023 | 11:20 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 16, 2023 | 11:20 AM
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah. (Supplied)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Friday, 15 December, slammed BJP national president JP Nadda for attempting to derive political mileage from the horrific Belagavi assault incident, wherein a woman was paraded naked and thrashed after her son eloped with a girl from the same community. The Chief Minister termed it “shameful” to politically exploit the incident.
Siddaramaiah’s attack comes following the BJP’s statewide demonstrations and the party sending a “fact-finding team” of four MPs to Belagavi on Saturday.
In a strongly worded statement, the Chief Minister said that the BJP’s rule in Karnataka witnessed multiple instances of violence against women, but Nadda has forgotten this to politically target the Congress government.
Unfortunately, he is using the recent incident of violence against a woman in Belagavi for politics, Siddaramaiah charged. “The violence inflicted on a woman and her family members in Belagavi is highly condemnable. It is shameful that BJP President Nadda is exploiting such an incident for political gain,” he said.
BJP's rule in Karnataka witnessed multiple instances of violence against women, but BJP National President J P Nadda has forgotten this to politically target us. Unfortunately, he is using recent incident of violence against a woman in Belagavi for politics.
The violence… pic.twitter.com/JG53q80kmt
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 15, 2023
As soon as the Belagavi incident came to light, state Home Minister G Parameshwara and Minister of Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar visited the survivor’s home not only to console her but also to provide compensation, Siddaramaiah explained.
The police apprehended the culprits within 24 hours and put them behind the bars, he added.
“I am personally overseeing the investigation of this case. Our government is committed to ensuring that such inhumane acts do not recur by meting out strict punishment to the guilty,” Siddaramaiah said.
Noting that the state BJP leaders are also satisfied with the measures taken by the state government, the Chief Minister alleged that Nadda’s sudden awakening and his attempt to stir up this case four days after the incident took place reeks of political motive rather than genuine concern for women.
Citing the National Crime Bureau (NCRB) report, Siddaramaiah said there were 17,813 cases of violence against women in Karnataka in 2022, during the BJP’s rule, compared to 14,468 cases the previous year in 2021.
“What was the BJP National President doing then? Was he in exile? Did he not notice the increasing cases of violence against women under their own government year after year?” the Chief Minister asked.
“From Manipur to Gujarat, from Uttar Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh, wherever BJP is in power, the cases of violence against women are rising, as per the NCRB report. These cases prove that BJP is inherently anti-women,” Siddaramaiah said.
He further said that the internal disputes in the state BJP are escalating while denting the party’s reputation and senior leaders are making serious allegations against the party chief and opposition leaders.
Siddaramaiah dared Nadda to send an investigative committee to look into these allegations.
On Friday, BJP national president JP Nadda constituted a five-member fact-finding committee comprising the party’s women MPs to visit the village in Karnataka where the incident happened and submit a report to him
The five-member fact-finding committee comprises BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Sunita Duggal, Locket Chatterjee, Ranjeeta Koli, and party national secretary Asha Lakra.
According to a statement from the BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, Nadda also condemned the incident and claimed that the attacks against women increased after the Congress came to power in the state.
The incident also exposed the “irresponsible behaviour” of the Congress governments “everywhere in the country” in tackling such crimes, read the statement.
Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra said, on Friday, that the unit would stage a statewide protest on Saturday against the incident where a Belagavi woman was assaulted and paraded naked.
“Tomorrow, we are staging a statewide agitation in all the districts and taluk headquarters where a large number of women will take part,” Vijayendra said.
The party decided to stage a demonstration at Channamma Circle in the district headquarters town of Belagavi bordering Maharashtra, he added.
ಪರಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಪಂಗಡದ ಮಹಿಳೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ನಡೆದಿರುವ ದೌರ್ಜನ್ಯದ ಕುರಿತು ಇಡೀ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲೇ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಆಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ದಲಿತರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮೊಸಳೆ ಕಣ್ಣೀರು ಹಾಕುವ ಸರ್ಕಾರ, ಬೆಳಗಾವಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೂ ಸಂತ್ರಸ್ತೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಚಾರಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ.
ಇಂತಹ ಘಟನೆಯನ್ನು ಖಂಡಿಸಿ ರಾಜ್ಯದಾದ್ಯಂತ ನಾಳೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ.
– ಶ್ರೀ… pic.twitter.com/sWqsRd7mUd
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) December 15, 2023
(With PTI inputs)
