Congress stages walkout over Bhopal gangrape issue

Bhopal: The opposition Congress staged a walkout from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Friday after it was dissatisfied with the government's reply on the issue of October 31 Bhopal gang rape case.

Congress leaders said that political interference in police functioning was responsible for incidents like the gangrape.

The main opposition also alleged that it was because of this that Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of rape cases in India in 2016 as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released yesterday.

Since November 27 when the assembly session began, the Congress has been insisting on having a debate in the House on the issue of the Bhopal gangrape that took place on October 31 in order to highlight the plight of women. The party had also staged a protest in the assembly premises on November 29.

Assembly speaker Dr Sitasharan Sharma yesterday had assured the Congress that he will take up the matter for debate during today's proceedings.

Today, after the question hour, the speaker mentioned the adjournment motion moved by the Congress legislators on the issue of Bhopal gang rape case following which the state home minister Bhupendra Singh gave a detailed statement on the incident and steps taken by the government.

However, leader of opposition (LoP), Ajay Singh and senior party MLAs Dr Govind Singh, Arif Aqeel, Ramniwas Rawat and Hina Kanvre among others pulled up the government for forcing the victim to run from pillar to post to get her FIR registered despite the victim being the daughter of a police couple.

"There is a need for the police to become sensitive on such issues," Singh said.

The LoP also charged that because of political intervention in administration and police working, police were were under pressure and unable to discharge their duties properly.

Replying to the opposition, the home minister said, "The government is committed to check crime against women and is taking all possibe steps in this regard."

Referring to the NCRB report on the issue of crimes against women in the state, the minister argued that it was on the decline.

"From 1993 to 2003, the state was on the top in the category of crimes against women. But because of consistent efforts, it has come down to eighth position," the minister contended.

The minister said that the incidents of rapes too has continuously dipped when compared to 1993.

However, expressing dissatisfaction over the home minister's reply, the Congress members led by the LoP staged a walkout.