Visit Baran district to know ground reality: Gehlot to BJP leaders

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot slammed BJP leaders and asked them to visit themselves Baran in Rajasthan, where two girls were allegedly raped, to know the ground reality instead of asking why Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have not visited Baran.

Jaipur: Instead of asking why Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have not visited Baran in Rajasthan, where two girls were allegedly raped, senior BJP leaders should go to the district themselves to know the ground reality, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Friday.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were on Thursday arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police after they were stopped from marching towards Hathras to meet the family of a Dalit woman who was allegedly raped by four men on September 14.

Gehlot claimed that the Uttar Pradesh government wanted to hide things as the opposition leaders were prevented from going to Hathras.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi trust our words and reports. Why don't the senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah or Dharmendra Pradhan visit Baran or anywhere in the state to know what actually is the ground reality. We will allow them and if required, police protection will be given to BJP leaders, said Gehlot.

According to police, two minor sisters went missing from their home in Baran district on September 19. They were later found in Kota on September 22.

Read:Special efforts needed to bring minorities into mainstream of development: Gehlot

The girls were handed over to their families after recording their statements, police said, adding that the medical examination of the girls did not confirm rape.

Gehlot further said that the state government did not prevent a BJP delegation from visiting Dungarpur district, where violence erupted last week, because the role of the opposition is imperative in a healthy democracy.

Gehlot said that incidents can happen anywhere but what matters is action and Hathras is an example of inaction.

What happened in Hathras was very shameful. The victim's mother kept crying and wanted to see his daughter for the last time, but the police did not allow and the body was cremated in the night hours, he said.

PTI