The Congress on Saturday asked the BJP’s top leadership to apologise to the country over the alleged involvement of party functionaries in crimes against women in the north-eastern states of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.

“You asked for an apology from Sonia Gandhi but I ask you to apologise to the nation. BJP chief JP Nadda, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should apologise, Home Minister Amit Shah should apologise and Minister Smriti Irani should apologise. Under you, your lawmakers and leaders are violating our girls and trading them,” Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said at the AICC Press conference.

The comments came a day after the BJP demanded an apology from party chief Sonia Gandhi for allegedly misbehaving with Irani in Parliament. The BJP also demanded an apology from Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury over his alleged slip of tongue over President of India Droupadi Murmu.

Citing the recent Meghalaya sex racket case, Ajoy Kumar said that on July 22 in the outskirts of Tura West Garo Hills district, 73 people including 23 women were arrested and five children including a minor girl were rescued after a raid by the police in the farmhouse of the state BJP vice president Bernard Marak. Kumar alleged Marak has a history of charges lodged against him under various sections of the IPC and the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, 1956. He has more than 25 criminal cases registered against him since the early 2000s across the North-eastern state.

“This person was the self-styled chairman of the militant outfit, Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC-B), but even after the disbandment of the outfit, he had been indulging in criminal activities like extortion from traders of Tura market, criminal intimidation in case of refusal to pay extortion money, arms smuggling, prostitution, illegal sale of liquor, illegal sale of lottery tickets, encroachment on others’ property, illegal collection of money for recommending issue of TNT license, etc. the Meghalaya police has claimed,” he said.

“But the BJP has termed the move as part of a political vendetta by the National Peoples' Party-led government in the state of which the saffron party is a minor partner,” said the former Lok Sabha MP.

Citing the recent Arunachal Pradesh rape case, the Congress leader said that on October 12th, 2019, sitting MLA Goruk Pordung of Bameng Assembly Constituency in East Kameng District in Arunachal Pradesh was accused of rape by a Medical Officer posted in Bameng Primary Health Centre.

“We will run a political movement on the issues in the north-eastern region,” said Kumar, adding that “neither Sitharaman nor Irani have any concern over these cases where tribal girls were violated.”