Amid Rage Over Unnao Incident, Yogi’s Minister Says Can’t Give 100 per cent Assurance On Crime

Amid the growing rage over the rising crime against women, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Ranvendra Pratap Singh on Thursday said that 100 per cent assurance on crime can’t be given in a society. "When there is a society, one can't give 100 per cent assurance that crime won’t take place. I don’t think so Lord Rama would have been able to give 100 per cent assurance," the minister is heard saying in Hindi in a video shared by news agency ANI.

"However, there is surety that if a crime has been committed, the person behind it will be punished and put behind bars," he added.

The remarks of the minister were in reference to the recent incident in Unnao, where a rape victim was set a blaze while she was on her way to court to file an FIR against the accused. The victim is still battling with her life and was moved from Lucknow to Delhi for the treatment.

Slamming the Yogi Adityanath government over the incident, the Opposition Congress said that a “jungleraj” was prevailing in the state. "It is strange that even after such heinous cases, the BJP government is patting its back. The accused, who were in jail, come out and commit another crime. No one is safe in the state," UPCC chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said, adding that the Congress was standing firmly with the victims of such incidents and would fight for them from the House to the streets.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi also launched a scathing attack on the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the law-and-order situation in the state. "Yesterday the home minister of the country and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister clearly lied that law and order in Uttar Pradesh has become better. Seeing such incidents everyday angers the mind. BJP leaders should now come out of false propaganda," she said in a tweet.

The Congress general secretary also tagged a news report of the incident, wherein the rape survivor from Unnao was allegedly set ablaze early on Thursday morning by five men. In another tweet, she said, "Hurt by the news of health of the Unnao victim. Pray to God that the victim gains health soon."

"The BJP government's statement of yesterday was that all is well in UP. Today another statement has come. But it is the responsibility of the CM and UP government to issue false statements and false propaganda," she added.