Maharashtra Cong to hold protests against Hathras incident Monday

The Congress will hold protests in Maharashtra on Monday "seeking justice" for a 19-year-old woman who was allegedly gang-raped and killed in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh triggering nationwide outrage, a senior party leader said on Sunday. State Congress unit president Balasaheb Thorat said the Hathras incident has “made India hang its head in shame”.

“The Yogi Adityanath government continues to remain insensitive to the issue. This case was handled in a very irresponsible and dictatorial manner. Instead of giving justice to the victim's family, the Uttar Pradesh government threatened them.

“The Congress party is fighting for justice for the victim's family and a statewide ‘satyagraha’ will be held on Monday. The fight will continue till the victim's family gets justice,” Thorat, who is also the Revenue minister in the state government, said in a statement.

He said demonstrations will be held at all the district headquarters in the state.

“There should be a judicial inquiry by the Supreme Court into the Hathras incident. The Collector of Hathras should be suspended.

"Why did the police burn the body of the victim by dousing it in petrol? Why was the victim's family threatened and misled by the UP administration? And what is the guarantee that the body that was burnt was that of the victim? The victim's family has the right to know the answers to these questions from the Yogi Adityanath government,” the Congress leader said.

The UP government has already recommended a CBI probe into the incident. Thorat also referred to a scuffle between Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and police while he was on his way to Hathras on foot to meet family members of the victim on Thursday. He said the incident galvanised Congress workers in the country, leading to the UP government coming to “its senses” and allowing Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to visit the victim's family on Saturday.

“But on their way, Congress workers were beaten with sticks and male police officers went to the extent of touching the clothes of Priyanka Gandhi. This shows the cheap mentality of the Yogi Adityanath government towards women. People will not forget this incident and will pull the BJP and its arrogance down,” Thorat added. 

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