BJP to protest against Congress over ‘misleading’ claims in Champawat case

Dehradun: The BJP on Thursday announced statewide protests against Congress, accusing the opposition party of spreading “misleading” information in the Champawat case, in which police later claimed that the alleged gang rape of a minor girl never took place.BJP Mahila Morcha state president Ruchi Bhatt said Congress and other opposition parties were trying to “mislead women, youth and society” by politicising the case. “Attempts are being made to give a political colour to the Champawat case to damage the image of the BJP govt and organisation,” she said.The BJP Mahila Morcha said it will organise press conferences and effigy-burning programmes in all 13 districts between May 9 and 11 to protest against what it described as attempts by the opposition to “tarnish BJP’s image and vitiate the atmosphere in the state.”Bhatt alleged that opposition parties were deliberately trying to create an atmosphere of anarchy in Uttarakhand. “The BJP has always stood for women’s honour, security and justice, while Congress has repeatedly exploited women’s sentiments for political gain,” she said.Senior Mahila Morcha members have been assigned district-wise responsibility to lead the protests.Meanwhile, responding to the BJP’s allegations, Congress chief state spokesperson Garima Dasauni said the law and order situation in Uttarakhand had hit “an all-time low.”“We have been staging protests across the state over the law and order situation, and people in large numbers are coming out in our support. Seeing this, the BJP wants to mislead people through its protests,” she said. Dasauni alleged that instead of improving the situation, the BJP was more interested in blaming Congress for the prevailing situation in the state.