BJP MLA From Kathua Who Attended Pro-Rapists Rally Is Now Cabinet Minister
Image Courtesy: News 18
The BJP has rewarded the Kathua MLA who attended a rally supporting the rapists and murderers of the eight-year-old girl from a nomadic Muslim community — by making him a minister in the Jammu & Kashmir government.
In a cabinet reshuffle on 30 April, Rajiv Jasrotia — the said BJP MLA from Kathua — was sworn in as a cabinet minister in the PDP-BJP government, along with seven others.
What’s worse, the cabinet reshuffle took place because two BJP ministers — Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga — were forced to resign earlier in April for attending the same pro-rapists rally in Kathua.
They were forced to resign after news of them attending the rally — organised by the Hindu Ekta Manch in February — created much public outrage in the country and embarrassment for the party. So what was the point of removing the two ministers in the first place?
After giving in the resignation, Ganga had in fact claimed that the BJP’s state party leadership itself had sent the leaders to the rally.
Jasrotia was among the BJP leaders who attended the pro-rapists rally.
In fact, it seems that Jasrotia even made statements in favour of the rapists and murderers. According to lawyer Talib Hussain, who is representing the child in the case — but even spoke of forcing the Bakarwal community, to which the child belonged, to leave Rasana village of Kathua district.
Jasrotia was even questioned by the police in connection with the rape and murder case — after which he even went missing for a brief while!
The eight-year-old Bakarwal girl was abducted, drugged and raped repeatedly inside a Hindu temple, where she was kept for days, tortured and finally killed in January. Seven days after she went missing, her body was found in Rasana village under Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district.
Never mind the ‘Beti Bachao’ campaign and hashtags, the message that the BJP is sending out to its core base is clear.
Ganga had later said that he had gone for the Kathua rally on BJP’s instructions. He had also said that he had sacrificed himself to protect the party’s image.
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