Embroiled in Gujarat snooping row, the BJP on Thursday sought to turn tables on the Congress by questioning its silence over a case of sexual assault by Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal on a female journalist working with the weekly.
The Opposition party demanded Tejpal’s arrest and accused the media of adopting double standards in its coverage of the case of alleged snooping on a woman by Narendra Modi Government in 2009 and the Tejpal’s case.
“While the dignified ladies from the Congress were anointing themselves as a guardian to a woman who sought anonymity; sensationalising her ordeal, dragging her in the newspapers and TV channels; a serious crime, admittedly perpetrated by a senior editor, is being ignored by the Congress. The least they can do is to demand registration of a criminal case against Tejpal,” BJP spokesperson Meenakshi lekhi told reporters.
lekhi demanded that Tejpal be arrested after lodging of FIR against him for allegedly sexually assaulting his colleague. “I would want the Home Minister to ensure lodging of an FIR and immediate arrest of Tejpal,” she said. lekhi alleged that the incident of “virtual rape” of a journalist by Tejpal was being “blacked out” by media and also wondered why the National Commission for Women, Press Council of India and certain other agencies were silent.
“Tejpal has been found involved in criminal activity but it was ignored by the media. The victim and her father as well as the criminal are from the same fraternity (media). A blanket is sought to be put on the case,” lekhi said She said, in the Gujarat case, the woman sought anonymity but some papers have even published her name and photograph.
leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said the victim’s complaint makes out a clear case of rape, as the definition of rape was amended by the Parliament subsequent to the Justice Verma Committees recommendations.
“Why was the offence not allowed to be reported forthwithIJ Were any pressures brought on the victim not to lodge a complaintIJ How can an offence of rape be compromised by an atonement that the guilty will not attend office for six monthsIJ It is unheard of that a private treaty between Tarun Tejpal and Shoma Chaudhury wipes out the penal consequence of rape. How can Shoma Chaudhury so definitely say that the victim will not depose before the policeIJ Is she not guilty of tampering with evidence in a rape case by pressuring a young employee to conceal the offenceIJ” Jaitley said through a statement on Thursday.
Jaitley took a dig at Union Minister Manish Tewari who was in Goa recently saying he discovered a Hitler there but could not discover a serial rapist. At a function in Goa, Tewari had equated Modi with Hitler.