The Congress Party yesterday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on Banaras Hindu University violence and demanded sacking of the vice chancellor.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said while Modi is vocal on almost all issues, his silence over the violence on girls in his own parliamentary constituency of Varanasi is questionable.
On Saturday, police resorted to a baton charge in Banaras Hindu University injuring some students protesting outside their hostel.
“What has been happening in this centre of learning over the last two days is absolutely preposterous and shocking. Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of the prime minister and his government runs a campaign ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ (save the girl, educate the girl).
“What is playing itself out in his own constituency is the perpetration of the most unspeakable atrocities on girl students who were protesting against eve-teasing and alleged molestation and demanding a safer campus,” said Tewari.
He also took on BHU Vice-Chancellor G C Tripathi, stating that it was shameful on his part to have suggested that girl students not step outside the hostel after 6pm.
“We would like to ask the prime minister that does such a person deserve to be the vice chancellor of one of India’s most premier universities.
“One who is so insensitive to the genuine concerns of women students and rather than empathising with them, the university goes and colludes in the most barbaric lathi-charge,” he added.
“There’s a big difference between his (Modi) words and actions... On one side, he calls for educating and protecting the girl child and when girls go to study, they are molested,” he added.
Calling the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh insensitive, Tewari said: “Instead of taking strict action against the culprits, Uttar Pradesh police rather resorted to baton charge on the girls. What kind of administration is this?”
In New Delhi, several student groups carried out protests against the use of force by police on the woman students.
Congress activists stage a demonstration against the Uttar Pradesh government after police baton charged students of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) while they were agitating against the molestation of a student inside the campus, in New Delhi yesterday.
