MARGAO
Congress leaders joined in a candle-lit peace rally at the historic Lohia Maidan here on Saturday evening, with former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat seeking to know whether rapes of young children in Uttar Pradesh and Jammu constitutes BJP’s “Achhe Din” promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the people of India.
Saying that the government machinery in Uttar Pradesh ruled by the BJP acted only after the High Court issued the directions, Kamat called upon the people to understand the gravity of the rape cases of the two minor girls and brace up to teach the BJP a lesson at the right time.
As many as six MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Babu Kavlekar, Digambar Kamat, Filipe Neri Rodrigues, Nilkant Harlankar, Clafacio Dias, Wilfred D’Sa, besides party leaders including GPCC Chief Shantaram Naik, Mahila Congress Chief Pratima Coutinho, AICC Secretary Girish Chodankar and others marched from the Margao Municipal Square to the Lohia Lohia in a candle- lit procession to protest and condemn the rape cases against the innocent minor girls.
“It is sad that we have to take out this peace rally on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti to protect against the atrocities against women and children. Ram Manohar Lohia had fought for freedom, but we are gathered here to demand freedom and justice for our women,” Kamat said, adding it is highly condemnable the way the Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir government went about to protect the accused in the rape cases.
In his address, Leader of Opposition Babu Kavlekar demanded that the atrocities against women and children should stop immediately and the perpetrators of the heinous crimes brought to book immediately. “The time has come for Prime Minister to stop making statements and instead show results on the ground,” Babu demanded.
GPCC Chief Shantaram Naik recalled how the Congress had strengthened the Indian Penal Code by bringing strong amendments when the Nirbhaya case had taken place in Delhi.
AICC Secretary Girish Chodankar said while the PM is harping on his slogan ‘Beti Padao, Beti Bachao’, the ground reality was different, with BJP states witnessing rising atrocities and rapes against women and children.
