Bid to cover up Hathras case, PM’s silence about ongoing farmers’ agitation show govt’s callousness: Congress

The Congress on Sunday slammed the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government for trying to hush up the Hathras gangrape and murder case, in which the CBI has now filed a chargesheet.

Speaking to the media, AICC spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed also expressed surprise at the silence being maintained by PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah with respect to the farmers’ agitation. “Narendra Modi-led Central govt is responsible for the deaths of 33 farmers, who have died during the ongoing farmers' protest,” she said.

“As you all know, 33 farmers have lost their lives in the ongoing farmer agitation and the All India Kisan Sabha is observing today as Shraddhanjali Divas. Why hasn’t PM Modi said a single word? Why is our Prime Minister maun? Our annadatas are sitting at the Delhi border along with their wives and children in one of the coldest winters Delhi is experiencing but our Home minister Amit Shah has no time to see them but has time to go to Bengal!” she said.

In response to a question regarding PM Modi’s visit to Gurudwara Rakabganj today, Dr Mohamed said that the PM should also visit the site of the farmers’ protests where the agitators were going through an extremely difficult time owing to the freezing cold.

Here are the highlights of the media briefing:

As you all know, 33 farmers have lost their lives in the ongoing farmer agitation and the All India Kisan Sabha is observing today as Shraddhanjali Divas. Why hasn’t PM Modi said a single word? Why is our Prime Minister maun? Our annadatas are sitting at the Delhi border along with their wives and children in one of the coldest winters Delhi is experiencing but our Home minister Amit Shah has no time to see them but has time to go to Bengal!”

Why is he not talking to our annadatas? The callousness of the govt is on full display when on the one hand lakhs of kisans are waiting for justice and on the other side you have the most gruesome gang rape and cover up by the State witnessed in the 73 year history of India. The CBI filed a chargesheet in the Hathras case confirming that it was gang rape and murder but still PM Modi is quiet, Amit Shah is quiet and Yogi Adityanath is quiet.

Narendra Modi-led Central govt is responsible for the deaths of 33 farmers, who have died during the ongoing farmers' protest.

Cover up, complicity & collusion of Adityanath Govt stands exposed

Yogi Adityanath alias Ajay Singh Bisht and his government now stand exposed before the people of this country by filing of the chargesheet by the CBI in the gruesome Hathras rape & murder case which shook the soul of the nation.

The systematic and diabolic design by which a national campaign was launched by the Modi government, the Yogi Adityanath government and the BJP along with a section of the media for discrediting and tarnishing the character of the hapless Hathras gang rape victim; questioning the motive of the family, questioning the financial capacity of the family and repeatedly attempting to convert into a caste dispute or honour killing now lies in complete tatters.

Never before in the history of 73 years of independent India, a girl who died of brutal gang rape was subjected to such ugly insinuation and innuendos whereby her entire family was targeted to be harassed threatened and detained. Even members of the press were not allowed to meet the family or report the facts.

The facts:

-The FIR took 8 days to be registered, that too after her family ran from pillar to post.

-Despite her dying declaration on Sept 22 in the presence of the District Magistrate where she stated that she was gang raped, the Hathras SP kept insisting that there was no evidence of sexual assault. (Nirbhaya gang rape & murder case relied on her dying declaration to eventually convict & hang the rapists). On whose orders did he adamantly deny sexual assault?

- UP Additional DG of Police (Law & Order) Prashanth Kumar cited some reports which spoke about absence of semen on victim’s body, thereby distracting the investigation saying the victim was not raped. But as per the new law enacted in 2013, this is not a legal requirement to determine rape. It is unfathomable that the ADG did not know this fact; on whose orders did he make that statement? This was obviously an attempt to mislead the evidence & protect the rapists.

- Who gave the orders to the police to forcefully cremate the victim secretly in the night without a single member of the family present as they were locked up by the police?

- BJP MLAs & MPs including Mohan Mandavi, Surendra Singh openly defended the rapists. The BJP IT Cell head even published the cictim’s face which according to IPC Section 228A is punishable by imprisonment for a term which may extend up to 2 years.

However, the person whose behaviour has been the most bizarre and reprehensible is UP CM Ajay Singh Bisht. Because he is not only the CM, he is also the Home Minister of UP. The forceful cremation of the victim instructed by the DM of Hathras and the successive attempt to cover up the act could not have happened without the former’s express sanction.

When cornered by intense public interest and media enquiry into the case he went so far as to allege an international plot to defame the UP govt. The UP government even hired a PR firm to spread the false narrative that the victim wasn’t raped. The administration tried everything to hush up the case.

It was only due to the sheer persistence of Shri Rahul Gandhi ji and Smt Priyanka Gandhi ji, who were repeatedly stopped from going to Hathras & even had to face police brutality on their way to reach the victim’s family and listen to their concerns, which finally led to UP government reluctant transfer of the case to CBI.

We demand that accountability must be fixed. UP Police, who are responsible for this botch up should be punished for this wilful subversion of justice. The UP govt has used the full might of the State to deny justice to the victim.

UP CM Shri Adityanath alias Shri Ajay Bisht should take moral responsibility of the tragedy and resign from his post. The Congress party and the people of India will not rest until the Ajay Bisht govt is held accountable for their shameful and despicable conduct.

On a question about the PM’s visit to Gurudwara Rakabganj, Dr. Shama Mohamed said: What I would like to say on that- it is always a good thing to go to a gurudwara, go to a mandir. You know, we all Indians are very spiritual people and I appreciate the Prime Minister’s going there and what I would like to say that there are these farmers who are protesting out at the border. 33 of them have died due to this extreme cold and ailments; you know it is very cold even sitting inside the house, we need heaters, now they are on the roads out there. He can just go there and console them? Where is the empathy?

They say that Pradhan Mantri is a man who loves this country, who loves his people, he keeps saying that each one of you are inside me. Where is the empathy from the Pradhan Mantri? He can just go and say, visit them and just console the families, just imagine what is going through those families, their children; they are also there at the Delhi borders.

I have visited them personally over there. I can tell you, it is very cold and it is very difficult. So, I would urge the Pradhan Mantri to go out there and visit them. Instead of just going to religious places, which we understand is a good thing, but he must go and visit them and console them and listen to them, give justice to these farmers and repeal these black laws and re-enact new laws in consultation with farmers, opposition parties and other stakeholders.