MP rape: Same old tough stand, insensitive remark & protest

, March 18: The BJP often pats its own back as a party that stresses good governance. It projects the performance of the three states, namely, Gujarat,

and Chhattisgarh, to boost its record at the all-India level.

MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan played an active role in initiating steps to curb crime against women in the wake of the Delhi gangrape case of December last year. His government adopted a slew of measures, including both incentives and punishment, to improve the women's security situation in MP, a state which witnesses a high record of rape incidents (one woman is raped here every nine minutes).

But while the government announced steps to deal with post-crime scenario, why isn't it concerned with improving the ambience better for the women? Last week, a Swiss woman was gangraped by a group of men in a forest in the state where she was camping with her husband. Six accused of raping the woman were arrested and five of them also confessed to the crime. The rape of the Swiss woman near Datia town took place just a month after the rape of a Korean woman in Umaria district.

Victim invited trouble for herself, says MP home minister

But the state government embarrassed itself and India when the state home minister, Uma Shankar Gupta, said on Sunday that the victim herself invited trouble by not letting the state administration know about her whereabouts. It was considered to be quite an insensitive comment by the minister of an administration which has been trying hard to establish itself to be women-friendly.

The Opposition Congress, which has failed to beat the BJP in three of its powerful forts, namely, Gujarat, MP and Chhattisgarh, in recent times, found a great opportunity to attack the ruling party particularly when the assembly elections are scheduled a few months away. The state Opposition leaders decided to stage protest across MP on Monday on the gangrape case.

Whatever the political adversaries do to get mileage ahead of elections, will the blame-game on social crimes help the victims in any way? In Delhi, the opposition slams the Congress while in MP, it is the BJP which is being condemned for rape incidents. In the meantime, those placed at influential positions continue to make mockery of the victim's dignity and the country's law system.

A nation is in real trouble if even matters related to its women members' honour are reduced to subjects of petty political games.

OneIndia News