'Listen To The Tale Of...': Smriti Irani Corners Congress On Plight Of Kashmiri Pandits, Anti-Sikh Riots During No-Trust Debate
Responding after Rahul Gandhi's address, where he criticised the current government for failing to control violence in Manipur, Irani turned the spotlight onto the Congress's historical record.
In a blistering response to Rahul Gandi's address in Parliament on Wednesday, Smriti Irani launched a full-throttle attack on the Congress party during the debate on a no-confidence motion. Responding after Rahul Gandhi's address, where he criticised the current government for failing to control violence in Manipur, Irani turned the spotlight onto the Congress's historical record. Irani addressed the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the tumultuous period in Kashmir during the Congress regime.
During her speech in the Lok Sabha, Irani spotlighted the distressing case of Girija Tickoo, a Kashmiri Pandit woman who was gang-raped and brutally murdered in the 1990s. She emphasized how some Congress leaders had dismissed Tickoo's story as mere propaganda when it was depicted in a film.
"You also listen to the tale of Kashmiri Pandits. During the 1990s, a woman went to a university to take her paycheck. When she was trying to return to her home on a bus, she was dragged by five men and taken to a taxi. They raped her and chopped her body using a saw," Irani stated, underscoring the severity of the incident.
She went on to assert that the Congress seemed unwilling to acknowledge the plight of the Kashmiri Pandit community.
“When her story was shown in a movie, some Congress spokespersons called it propaganda. You people don’t want the story of Kashmiri Pandits to be told anywhere and you don’t want them to be identified as victims,” she added.
Irani also recounted the tragic case of Sarla Bhatt, a medical staff member who was kidnapped, raped, and subjected to brutality in Kashmir during the same period.
“Sarla Bhatt was a part of the medical staff. During the 1990s she was kidnapped from her institute and was gang-raped and kept near a road. I want to ask that on one end the people of the Opposition alliance talk about India being divided, but tell me when will Girija Tickoo and Sarla Bhatt will get justice,” Irani said.
Shifting the focus to the 1984 Sikh riots, Irani referred to a journalist's report detailing horrific acts of violence. She narrated the shocking account of Sikh children being castrated, and their body parts being placed inside their mothers' mouths. Irani further highlighted the harrowing ordeal of women who were taken to Chilla village from Trilokpuri and subjected to rape.
“In Trilokpuri, 30 women were taken to Chilla village and raped. She further stated that a 45-year-old mother said that not only killed her husband, they raped her and killed her son by setting him on fire,” BJP MP said. As her speech concluded, Irani challenged the opposition's claims of India's division while demanding justice for the victims of these tragic events.
Watch Full Speech Of Smriti Irani Here
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