BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday slammed the BJP leaders for visiting the woman in Belagavi who was allegedly assaulted and paraded naked after her son eloped with a girl from the same community.
“Despite the Karnataka High Court’s restrictions, the BJP leaders have visited the victimised woman who was partially stripped in a village in Belagavi district, thus not only flouting the court’s directive but also displaying their insensitivity,” Siddaramaiah said in a post on X.
The Chief Minister’s statement came after the five-member BJP fact-finding team, comprising Aparajita Sarangi, Sunita Duggal, Ranjeeta Koli, Locket Chatterjee and BJP national secretary Asha Lakra, met with the victim’s family on Saturday.
Siddaramaiah said that the Chief Justice of the High Court, while suo-motu taking cognisance of the incident, had suggested this morning that visits to the traumatised woman, who is severely distressed, should be restricted.
“This directive was notably given in the context of news about political leaders planning to visit the victimised woman. The Chief Justice’s suggestion in this situation is noteworthy,” Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister said that considering that the woman is receiving medical treatment, visitors’ interactions could impact her health and treatment. Therefore, the High Court stated that it is necessary to restrict visits to the woman for her well-being.
The High Court had ordered that no individual, group, organisation, political party, or others should visit the woman without prior written permission from the chief medical officer of the hospital responsible for her treatment, the Chief Minister said.
“Despite this, the BJP leaders, in a move to use a tragic incident for political gain, have visited the victimised woman in the name of ‘truth-seeking’,” Siddaramaiah said in the post.
The Chief Minister alleged that this showed the BJP’s blatant disregard for the court’s orders and instructions.
“The insensitivity and lack of respect shown by BJP leaders and their national president, JP Nadda, who is supporting this behaviour, must be condemned by everyone,” Siddaramaiah said.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee, who was in Belagavi as a member of the BJP’s fact-finding team, alleged on Saturday that women in Karnataka are scared under the Congress government in the state.
“Nobody here is willing to give a statement; everybody is scared. This means that women are scared here under the Congress government,” Locket Chatterjee told ANI.
National Commission for Women (NCW) member Delina Khongdup said on Saturday that it will not tolerate crimes like the Belagavi incident.
She also added that we should change our mindset and not let such incidents happen again in any part of the country. (ANI)