New Delhi: Refuting BJP's charge of being
"hand in glove" with Congress, National Commission of Women
Chairperson Mamta Sharma on Friday said the body was not acting in
a biased manner.
"If they are claiming that I have a biased attitude then
it's absolutely incorrect because if I have taken cognisance
in Uttar Pradesh, then also in (Congress-ruled) Rajasthan. In
fact, in Rajasthan we have taken cognisance twice. I am not
ready to accept their allegation that the NCW is biased,"
Sharma told reporters here.
She said BJP leader Smriti Irani's statement accusing the
NCW of being hand in glove with Congress was very "immature"
because the commissions had already done its work in the case.
Irani was referring to the case of disappearance of nurse
Bhanwari Devi following which a Rajasthan minister had to
resign.
She said Devi went missing on September 1 and the NCW
took cognisance of the case on September 5 and then wrote to
state DGP and Jodhpur police subsequently.
"The CBI was already probing the Bhanwari Devi case and
we did not want to disturb their inquiry. The matter is
already subjudice so the NCW cannot intervene in this," Sharma
said.
As far as Bhatta-Parsaul is concerned, she said seven
women came to the NCW. A committee of five women was formed
which did the hearing of the case for two days. In fact, the
actions that the NCW took became the ground of the high
court's order that FIR should be lodged in the case, she said.
She said all the cases were filed on NCW's
recommendations. In fact, the high court rejected the appeal
of the police on the Commission's report.
Speaking on the case of Rajbala, who died after suffering
injuries in police action in Ramlila Maidan during Ramdev's
agitation, Sharma said her family has not approached the NCW
yet.
"If they come to us even today, we will surely take an
appropriate action in the case. In fact we had written to RML
hospital before her death seeking a report in the case. But,
even after her demise, there has been no response from their
side so far," she said.
Taking exception to the 'unsavoury remarks' against a
woman watch and ward staff of the Kerala Assembly by
government Chief Whip P C George, the NCW chairperson said the
state chief minister should take action against the minister
concerned.
"If they say that action cannot be taken against him, the
minister should at least apologise in public... I will
certainly talk to the Kerala Chief Minister in this regard,"
she said.
Taking note of an incident in which a woman was swabbed
with muriatic acid instead of antiseptic solution after she
delivered a still-born in a state-run hospital in West
Bengal's Murshidabad district, she said the NCW will look into
the matter and make sure that justice is done in the case.
She said her focus is not only on empowerment of women
but also on their growth and development.
PTI
First Published: Friday, November 04, 2011, 18:49