India News | Gujarat, Jharkhand Ministers Spar over Rape of Minor in Bharuch District
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The BJP-ruled Gujarat on Wednesday accused the Congress of politicising the rape of a child after a Jharkhand minister asked it to be sensitive towards migrant workers and have policies to ensure their safety.
Vadodara, Dec 18 (PTI) The BJP-ruled Gujarat on Wednesday accused the Congress of politicising the rape of a child after a Jharkhand minister asked it to be sensitive towards migrant workers and have policies to ensure their safety.
The BJP's response came after Dipika Pandey, a Congress minister in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand, visited the state-run SSG Hospital in Vadodara, where the 11-year-old girl from her state is being treated, and targeted Gujarat over migrant labourers.
Pandey claimed that such workers from Jharkhand had suffered during COVID-19 because the Gujarat government did not take their care properly.
IAS officer Kiran Pasi and IPS officer Suman Gupta from Jharkhand accompanied Pandey during her visit to the hospital.
Also Read | Assam: Congress Claims Party Worker 'Died Due to Tear Gas Smoke' During Protest Against Adani Group.
Gujarat Health Minister and government spokesperson Rushikesh Patel said Congress is politicising a serious crime like rape.
“I just had a talk with the doctors and police officers about this case. Despite doing our best, Congress is deliberately trying to politicise the issue. The party believes in sensationalism. Congress is trying to turn this serious crime into a political issue, which would adversely affect the mental health of the survivor and her family,” said Patel.
According to the police, the 11-year-old girl of a migrant labourer from Jharkhand was abducted and raped in Jhagadia industrial area in Gujarat's Bharuch district on Sunday evening.
The police on Monday arrested the 36-year-old accused Vijay Paswan, also a native of Jharkhand, for the alleged assault. Paswan lived next to the girl's hut and worked in the same factory as her father, they said.
As the girl sustained serious internal injuries in the sexual assault, she was referred to SSG Hospital in Vadodara.
On Wednesday, Jharkhand minister Singh and two officers met the girl's parents and doctors at the hospital. She told reporters that Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had approved financial assistance of Rs 4.5 lakh for the family.
“Our concern is that the girl must get proper medical treatment. Many migrant workers of Jharkhand work in Gujarat. It is also a matter of concern whether adequate measures are being taken for their safety and whether the companies which hire them take care of their welfare,” she said.
The Congress leader said the authorities and companies should ensure that children of migrant workers attend schools. She also stressed that creches should be provided to the families so they can go to work without worrying about the safety of their children.
The Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led government in Jharkhand said they are ready to airlift the child if the need arises and shift the child to another hospital outside Gujarat.
“We have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic that migrant workers from Jharkhand were not given proper treatment here. The Jharkhand government had run special trains and flights to bring them home.
“The (Gujarat) government should work sensitively and prepare policies to ensure the safety and security of migrant labourers,” said Singh, adding that many people from her state work in Gujarat.
“If they go back, Gujarat's industrial belt will grind to a halt. Thus, the Gujarat government should take up their responsibility and work for their welfare,” said Singh.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)