The National Commission for Women (NCW) on October 7 issued a notice to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ranjeet Bahadur Srivastava for calling the Hathras rape case victim “awaara (wayward)” and suggesting that she had an affair with the accused.
The NCW has asked him to appear before it on October 26.
In a video doing rounds on social media, the BJP leader from Barabanki claimed that the four men, who allegedly gangraped and brutalised the 19-year-old Dalit girl, are “innocent”, and questioned why are “such women” always found dead at certain specific spots.
The controversial leader who has 44 criminal cases against him also claimed that the Dalit woman must have beckoned the accused to the field herself because they were having an affair.
Taking cognizance of his statement, NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said: “He (Srivastava) is not fit to be called the leader of any party. He is showing his primitive and sick mindset, and I am going to send notice to him.”
Condemning the BJP leader’s “offensive and defamatory remarks”, the NCW has sent him the notice, asking him to appear before the women’s panel on October 26 at 11 am.
Earlier, on October 4, BJP MLA Surender Singh had suggested that rapes can be avoided if women are raised with certain values.
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