In the last six months, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat has been silent as party workers and those connected to it have been found involved in cases of gender crimes.
Fifty-five-year-old Govind Natt, a Dahod school principal, was arrested on September 22 ago for allegedly killing a six-year-old girl after she resisted his attempt to sexually assault her.
Natt is close to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Party, the Congress has alleged. Gujarat Congress spokesperson Parthivraj Kathvadiya has held that Natt is a political figure and that social media has photographs of him attending RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad events and with former BJP minister Arjunsinh Chauhan.
Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil condemned the Dahod incident and said that the party workers will take out a rally in Ahmedabad on September 26 to protest against what has happened. Alleging that the accused has links with the right wing organizations, including the RSS and the VHP, he demanded capital punishment for the accused. At a press conference held in New Delhi on September 25, He criticised the BJP and said that such people become members in its membership drive.
Dahod superintendent of police Rajdeepsinh Zala said that the girl was suffocated to death, that her body was dumped in the school’s compound, and her shoes and bag were left near the classroom. The school is in the Torani village in the Singvad taluka on September 19.
The girl’s mother told the police that she would go to school with the principal, Natt, everyday, and that she had dropped her off to be picked up by Natt on her final day as well. According to police, the principal had tried to sexually assault the minor in the car. She was choked to death when she resisted, the police said. The principal kept the body in the car all day and dumped it in the school compound in the evening.
Natt faces charges under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The only noteworthy statement that can be said to have come from the BJP is that of education minister Kuber Dindor. While condemning what happened, he said they would ensure that such crimes are not repeated.
In July, a 21-year-old had filed a complaint alleging rape by the trustee of an education institute at Atkot in Saurashtra, where she studied for five years, until recently. The police did not lodge a first information report for at least a fortnight until lawyer Anand Yagnik intervened, it is learnt. Paresh Radadiya and Madhu Thadani, both belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party, were arrested. Two others are at large.
Radadiya is the trustee of Pratiksha Vidya Pratishthan Sankul run by the Matushree D.B. Patel Education Trust at Atkot. Thadani is his friend.
In her complaint, the survivor said that between June 1, 2023 and May 4, 2024, they molested her and forced her into sexual relations with them in the hostel room. They even abused her and threatened to kill her parents if she spoke about it.
Two days ago, Gaurav Chaudhary, BJP Yuva Morcha leader from Mehsana, was arrested for sheltering a relative, one Bhuvo Shankar Chaudhary who had raped a minor in Chansama taluka of Patan, and according to reports, filmed the act and circulated it on social media.
The BJP which has been engaged in protests calling for women’s safety in states which have seen brutal crimes against women recently – like Bengal – has been criticised for its silence in Gujarat.
“This is a question that should occur to all the voters – I say voters and not people – and all the workers of the BJP, especially women. Can we have a double standard?” social activist Sukhdev Patel said, adding that the BJP, which has been in power for 30 years in the state, should think about it.
Karsandas Bapu, Aam Aadmi Party leader, also criticised the BJP for “talking of following Lord Ram’s footsteps but following Ravana’s footsteps instead.” He asked the BJP to do away with such people in its ranks and warned that if the party failed to do so then its days would be numbered.
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