‘How can they be unsafe?’: UP minister mocks Unnao rape survivor, mother after Delhi protest removal
They were protesting against the Delhi High Court’s decision to suspend the sentence of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a former BJP MLA convicted in the 2017 rape case.
A day after the Unnao rape survivor and her mother were forcibly removed from a protest at Delhi’s India Gate, Uttar Pradesh minister OP Rajbhar on Wednesday laughed off the incident, drawing sharp criticism.
The survivor and her mother were protesting against the Delhi High Court’s decision to suspend the sentence of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a former BJP MLA convicted in the 2017 rape case.
“I wanted to kill myself then and there, but I stopped after thinking about my family,” the survivor told India Today TV on Tuesday evening, recounting the moment she and her mother were dragged away from the protest site.
When reporters sought Rajbhar’s reaction to the survivor being driven out of India Gate, he remarked, “but her home is in Unnao…”, before breaking into laughter.
He also told ANI, “The court has said that Kuldeep Singh Sengar must stay at least 5 km away from the victim's family. While protesting in Delhi, the police told the family that if the court has made this arrangement, then how can they be unsafe?”
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What happened?
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met the Unnao rape survivor here on Wednesday after she allegedly faced ill-treatment during a protest in Delhi, saying that India is not only turning into a “dead economy” but also a “dead society”, PTI reported.
Gandhi met the survivor at his mother Sonia Gandhi’s 10, Janpath residence after the woman staged a protest against the bail granted by the Delhi High Court to the convict in the case, expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the survivor should be treated with respect and assured justice, instead of being subjected to fear and injustice.
“Is such treatment of a gang rape survivor appropriate? Is it her 'fault' that she has the courage to raise her voice for justice?
“The fact that her perpetrator (former BJP MLA Sengar) has been granted bail is extremely disappointing and shameful -- especially when the survivor is being repeatedly harassed and is living under the shadow of fear,” Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
“Bail for rapists and treating survivors like criminals -- what kind of justice is this? We are not just becoming a dead economy -- with such inhuman incidents, we are also turning into a dead society,” he added.
