Rajasthan No. 1 in crimes against women, but Opposition playing politics over Manipur: Anurag Thakur

New Delhi: Training his guns at Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday said that "peaceful and safe state has become number one in terms of crime against women in five years."
Thakur’s comments followed a press conference held by Gehlot earlier in the day in which he launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of not visiting violence-hit Manipur, from where a viral video of the incident in which two women were paraded in the nude and assaulted had gone viral and triggered outrage. Hitting back at the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Thakur said, "Where has Rajasthan reached in the last five years? There have been so many incidents of rape and atrocities against women that a peaceful and safe state has become number one in terms of crime against women in the last five years."
Addressing a press briefing at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters here in the national capital, the Union Minister said, "A total of 1.09 lakh incidents of crime against women happened in the state in last four years and 22 per cent rape cases in India are from Rajasthan."
Thakur also slammed Gehlot for removing Minister of State Rajendra Singh Gudha from the Council of Ministers after he criticised his own government on the atrocities against women in the poll-bound state.
In his address in the Rajasthan assembly yesterday, Rajendra Singh Gudha said, "It is true and should be accepted that we have failed in women's safety. Instead of Manipur, we should look within ourselves why atrocities on women have increased in Rajasthan."
Sharpening his attacks further, Thakur said that Gehlot had removed one of his ministers on the orders of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
"On the orders of Sonia ji and Rahul Gandhi, Gehlot sacked one of his own ministers. Gudha was sacked as he expressed concern over the situation in Rajasthan," Thakur said.
The union minister also asked why the Opposition was silent on crimes in West Bengal, Bihar, and Rajasthan.
“Why are their lips sealed on violence in West Bengal? The humiliation of women in both Howrah and Malda are shocking,” Thakur said.
The BJP has also targetted chief minister Mamata Banerjee for failing to provide security to women in the State.
Earlier today BJP I-T cell in chief Amit Malviya tweeted that two tribal women were allegedly “stripped naked, tortured and beaten mercilessly” in West Bengal’s Malda a few days ago while police remained a “mute spectator.”
On Friday, a BJP worker from Howrah's South Panchala in West Bengal claimed that during the recent panchayat polls in the state, she was dragged outside the polling booth and her clothes were ripped off. The woman said that she has filed an FIR in the incident.
Anurag Thakur in today’s press briefing stated, “The incidents of crime against women have increased in some states of the country and no action was taken against this in several states. What happened in Begusarai is in front of us, but CM Nitish Kumar did not speak a single word about this.”
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "PM Modi has taken responsibility and assured that injustice against women will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against the perpetrators...Whatever happened in Manipur is unfortunate but what happened in West Bengal is even more unfortunate...The people who were raising their voices against Manipur violence, a similar incident happened in West Bengal. It is worrisome and shameful..."
Union Minister Smriti Irani also said today that Congress does not want to hear the truth about atrocities against women in the state of Rajasthan.
“What is extremely alarming is that yesterday, from the state of Rajasthan, a minister spoke up on crime against women in the state, he was unceremoniously dismissed by the Congress.”
“Equally shocking is a video from West Bengal's Malda where two Dalit women were beaten and stripped,” Irani said.
The Union Minister also targeted the Opposition and the Congress party for remaining a “mute spectator” to the “killings of people during the West Bengal panchayat elections all because it is hungry for collaboration with the TMC.”