A Congress member in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district was on Saturday beaten up at a meeting after she raised questions about the decision to give an election ticket to a “rapist”, ANI reported. Tara Yadav had opposed her party’s decision to field Mukund Bhaskar for bye-elections to the Deoria Assembly seat, according to NDTV. The seat was left vacant after the death of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Janmejay Singh.
A video of the incident showed Yadav being hit and pushed around by a group of men. Some other party members intervened and led her away.
Yadav said that her party’s decision to field Bhaskar was wrong, especially amid countrywide outrage over the Hathras gangrape case. “On one hand, our party leaders are fighting for justice for Hathras case victim, and on the other hand, party ticket is being given to a rapist,” she was quoted as saying by ANI. “It is a wrong decision. It will malign the image of our party.”
The Congress member added: “I was thrashed by party workers when I questioned party’s decision to give a ticket to a rapist, Mukund Bhaskar for upcoming bye-polls. Now, I’m waiting for Priyanka Gandhi ji to take action.”
The Uttar Pradesh Congress has suspended two workers from the party and set up a committee to look into the incident, ANI reported. The committee was asked to submit a report in three days.
Yadav filed a police complaint against Congress’s Deoria District President Dharmendra Singh, Vice-President Ajay Singh and two others for the attack, according to NDTV. She also accused them of abusing and assaulting her.
The National Commission for Women also took note of the incident and demanded strict action against those who hit Yadav. “NCW India has taken cognisance of a woman worker being beaten up by supporters of a leader in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh,” the organisation tweeted. “Our Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh for swift investigation in the matter. The Commission has also sought security for the woman and her family.”
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also demanded action against the people who beat Yadav. “When a woman worker objected against giving tickets to a rape-accused, Congress leaders in Deoria beat her up,” he tweeted. “NCW should take note of this incident and ensure that the strict action is taken against the accused.”
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