The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Tuesday issued notices to Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Twitter for allegedly disclosing the identity of two minor boys who were victims of assault, PTI reported. Amol Jadhav, a resident of Mumbai, had filed a complaint against Gandhi and Twitter.
A video which went viral on social media last week showed two Dalit boys being stripped and beaten up for allegedly swimming in a well in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon city. The Congress president tweeted about the incident tagging the video, and blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for “rising atrocities” against backward sections of society.
The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights’ President, Pravin Ghuge, on Tuesday said he had sought replies from both Gandhi and Twitter as to why action should not be taken against them under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The panel has asked Gandhi and Twitter to respond within 10 days.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan said the video of the incident was shared widely on social media even before Gandhi had tweeted it. The party will seek legal opinion in the matter and decide its course of action, Chavan said.
Chavan, former Maharashtra chief minister, said since the BJP came to power, atrocities on Dalits and backward classes were on the rise. “The fresh incident is the case of two teenagers from a backward community being beaten up for bathing in a well in Jalgaon district,” he said. “Authorities are not taking action in the case. If we raise our voice against this and demand immediate action, what is wrong in this?”
Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam called the notice to Gandhi “nonsense”. “The notice should have been sent to Maharashtra Chief Minister [Devendra Fadnavis] who has failed to protect the rights and dignity of children,” he said. “Rahul Gandhi simply highlighted this sorry state of affairs.”
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