BJP politicising Belagavi incident, what about MLA raping minor?: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused BJP chief JP Nadda and the saffron party of politicising the incident in Belagavi where a Dalit woman was allegedly assaulted and paraded naked. He then asked what the BJP chief had to say about the BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh, Ramdular Gond, being convicted for raping a minor.

“Are you aware that a BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh was jailed for 25 years yesterday? He had raped a nine-year-old girl. What Nadda has to say (on this incident)?” asked Siddaramaiah on Saturday.

His remark came after BJP MP Sunita Duggal claimed the accused in the incident was backed by the Congress. Duggal was part of a BJP fact-finding team who arrived in Belagavi on Saturday to meet the Dalit woman. Another member of the team, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee, claimed that women in Karnataka feel scared under the Congress government.

Siddaramaiah responded saying a look at the National Crime Records Bureau will reveal how many cases of atrocities on girls and women have taken place during the earlier BJP rule in the state.

He also added the state government is taking all the legal actions necessary in the Belagavi incident and the accused were arrested immediately. “We will take strict action against culprits and they will be punished,” said Siddaramaiah.

The Karnataka CM also said Home Minister G Parameshwara met the Dalit woman.

Later, Siddaramaiah issued a statement saying that despite the Karnataka High Court restricting the move, the BJP leaders visited the Dalit woman “thus not only flouting the court’s directive but also displaying their insensitivity.”

“The Chief Justice of the High Court, while taking suo-motu cognisance of the incident, had suggested this morning that visits to the traumatised woman, who is severely distressed, should be restricted. This directive was notably given in the context of news about political leaders planning to visit the victimised woman. The Chief Justice’s suggestion in this situation is noteworthy,” Siddaramaiah wrote on X.

The High Court ordered that no individual, group, organisation, political party, or others should visit the woman without prior written permission from the chief medical officer of the hospital responsible for her treatment, he added.

The Karnataka CM said the visitors’ interaction could impact the woman’s health as she is currently receiving medical treatment.

According to the police, the woman’s son was in a relationship with a girl for some time. After receiving news that their daughter had eloped with the woman’s son, the girl’s family rushed to the boy’s house.

The girl’s family dragged the man’s mother outside her house, stripped her naked, tied her to a pole, and physically assaulted her, said the police.