New Delhi, Oct 15 The Congress on Thursday said the hallmark of the Modi government is to silence victims’ voices and remove those who ask questions, as the parents of Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered in Uttarakhand in 2022, were detained during a protest.
The opposition party slammed the detention of Bhandari’s parents as the “height of cowardice and insensitivity”.
Bhandari’s parents were released early Thursday, hours after being detained while protesting near India Gate here against Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim governor.
Her family has been alleging that Gautam played a key role in Bhandari’s death.
While being detained, her father issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Centre to cancel Gautam’s appointment.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of carrying out “state-sponsored oppression”, saying that it is not a sign of strength, but rather proof of its attempt to evade difficult questions.
“The height of cowardice and insensitivity from the Modi government! Ankita Bhandari’s parents, who were seeking justice, have been taken into custody, while a BJP-linked ‘VIP’ is rewarded with a governorship!” Kharge said in his post in Hindi on X.
“This act of state-sponsored oppression is not a sign of the government’s strength, but rather proof of its attempt to evade difficult questions. Treating parents who have lost their daughter in such a manner is utterly shameful and condemnable,” he said.
The Congress will continue to fight to ensure justice for Bhandari, Kharge asserted.
Gandhi also attacked the Modi government.
In a post in Hindi on X, he said, “At 4 in the morning, while the world was asleep, Ankita Bhandari’s parents were taken into custody. Their crime? They were sitting quietly at India Gate – with burdened shoulders, without any commotion, and simply demanding that Dushyant Gautam should not be made the Governor of Sikkim until the CBI investigation is complete.”
“Yesterday, Priyanka and I met these parents. Even before the results of that investigation came in, the appointment was rushed, and the parents asking questions were picked up in the dead of night,” the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
“This is the hallmark of this government: silence the voices of the victims, remove those who ask questions,” he said.
But the fight for justice will neither be silenced nor stopped, Gandhi asserted.
The Congress stands with Bhandari’s family and will continue to stand with them until they get justice, he asserted, using the hashtag ‘Justice For Ankita Bhandari’.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor asked whether the government has completely abandoned its duty of accountability, as it now relies on detention to silence those who demand it.
Tharoor said the people of the country have never needed permission to stand up for what is right and they must never be made to believe otherwise.
Bhandari’s father threatened to launch a nationwide agitation if the government did not accept their demand.
“We give a 24-hour ultimatum to the government for the cancellation of Dushyant’s appointment. Nationwide protests will be launched if the government does not accept our demand,” Ankita’s father told PTI Videos.
Besides Bhandari’s parents, several Congress leaders, including the party’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera, party MP Imran Pratapgarhi, social media department head Supriya Shrinate and Indian Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib, were detained and later released.
Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was killed on September 18, 2022.
Her body was recovered from the Chilla canal four days later. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two accomplices have been convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The case hogged the political spotlight over allegations that an unidentified VIP was linked to the crime. Bhandari’s family and activists have demanded an investigation into the alleged VIP angle, with Gautam’s name being raised in connection with the allegations.
Gautam has denied the accusations and initiated defamation proceedings against them.
The Congress has claimed that Gautam’s appointment was aimed at shielding him, as a governor cannot be subjected to criminal proceedings while holding office.
(PTI News)
