Members of the Grand Alliance on Sunday came out in support of their Godda candidate Pradeep Yadav against allegation of sexual exploitation by a woman party worker of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) and termed the allegation a political conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to demean Yadav.
Just few days ahead of polling date in Godda parliamentary constituency, JVM-P office bearer lodged an FIR on Saturday against Pradeep Yadav on charges of sexual harassment. The State BJP Spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo was prompt to react to the development and demand cancellation of Yadav’s candidature from the elections on the same day.
JVM-P General Secretary, Bandhu Tirkey, however, said that filing of a case just before the election raises doubts over the intentions of the complainant.
“Any complaint concerning safety of women must be investigated thoroughly. However, for now, the entire case looks like a conspiracy hatched by Chief Minister Raghubar Das and BJP’s Godda candidate Nishikant Dubey,” said Tirkey.
He added that the complainant was eying a party ticket for Sarath Assembly Constituency in 2019, but her plans did not materialize as former legislator Chunna Singh joined the party.
The State Congress Committee, Spokesperson, Lal Kishorenath Shahdeo said that the incident occurred on April 20 but took a fortnight to lodge a complaint. “Why she filed the case after 15 days of the incidence. It is a clear political conspiracy against the Grand Alliance,” he said.
Openly defending the Grand Alliance candidate, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) Spokesperson Vinod Pandey said it is difficult to digest that a victim of sexual exploitation took 15 days to lodge a complaint. “It looks like an effort to demean the Grand Alliance candidate and tarnish his image. We are in support of fair investigation of the matter since it is related to safety of women,” he said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) State General Secretary Kailash Yadav said that the complainant should have produced evidences to back her claims. “Pradeep Yadav is heavy weight leader in the state and he is likely to win this time. Fearing a defeat, Nishikant Dubey has scripted this story to weaken Yadav. The Grand Alliance stands with Pradeep Yadav and we are sure that he will come out clean in the investigation,” he added.