Odia medical student rape in Bengal: BJD condemns video of CM’s conversation with victim

The Biju Mahila Janata Dal, the women’s wing of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party, has lambasted Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi for releasing the video of his conversation with the Odia medical girl student who was gang raped in Durgapur, West Bengal.

Releasing the victim’s identity and making the recording of her conversation public violates the Supreme Court guidelines, BJD’s senior general secretary Tukuni Sahu lamented while briefing reporters here today.

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Addressing a press conference at the BJD party office here, Sahu said that in the past fifteen months under BJP rule, law and order in the state has completely deteriorated. Incidents of rape, gangrape, misconduct, and murder have become daily headlines in newspapers.

Even as women in the state continue to become victims of such heinous crimes every day, the Chief Minister has shown no concern. While the incident in West Bengal is indeed deplorable and painful, the manner in which Chief Minister Majhi made the recording of his conversation with the victim public is even more condemnable.

Biju Mahila Janata Dal General Secretary Sumitra Jena pointed out that, as per the Supreme Court guidelines, the victim’s identity or any conversation with her should not be made public. Hence, by circulating the recording through media, the Chief Minister has violated the apex court’s guidelines, she added.

BJD General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Sulata Deo, criticizing the move said, “Despite the recurrence of rape and gang rape incidents in the state over the last fifteen months, the Chief Minister has remained silent.”

“His (CM’s) sudden interest in the West Bengal case is purely politically motivated. Both the State and National Women’s Commissions have met the victim in West Bengal, but when it comes to Odisha, they have never shown such initiative in similar cases,” she further said.

“It is unfortunate that instead of ensuring justice for victims, the BJP and the state government are politicizing their pain. When BJP MLA Santosh Khatua made indecent remarks insinuating at a woman BJD leader, the matter was reported to both the State and National Women’s Commissions, yet neither took any action”, Deo highlighted.

“The way BJP leaders, including Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, rushed to West Bengal to meet the victim felt like a scene of ‘rape tourism’”, BJD’s senior general secretary Lekhasri Samantsinghar said, ridiculing the sudden rush of BJP leaders to Bengal.

The Biju Mahila Janata Dal strongly condemns the Chief Minister’s action of making the video of his conversation with the victim viral. The party also deeply condemns attempts to politicize this incident. Although the law and order situation in West Bengal is poor, the situation in Odisha is even worse. Women in Odisha, too, are increasingly unsafe. In this context, the Chief Minister’s actions are highly condemnable, they concluded.