In what is a clear sign of the callous and negligent attitude of Akhilesh Yadav, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister lost his cool at journalists - for questioning him about the spate of rape incidents in the state - and asked them why are they bothered about the incident since they are safe.
The incident took place during a press conference, in which a journalist asked the CM about the increasing cases of rape in UP.
"Have you faced any problem? You are safe, why are you bothered?" IBNLive quoted Akhilesh as saying.
"No other state has the kind of police control room we have here. If there is any incident, we will take action," he added.
The UP government seems to under pressure now as besides the criticism from the media and the public, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) under Narendra Modi is taking note of the developments.
Akhilesh's reaction, which reflects the attitude of the government in the state, comes in the wake of three cases of rape and a case of assault being reported in the state in the last 24 hours.
It has to be noted that only recently had Akhilesh's father Mulayam Singh Yadav, former Chief Minister of UP, commenting on the incidents of rape in the state, had stated: "Ladke, ladke hain. Galti ho jati hai (Boys are boys. They commit mistakes)".
There has been a series of incidents in the state in the last 24 hours. In Etawah, which is Akhilesh's hometown, a girl was raped and her mother was assaulted brutally. Reports confirm that the rape victim's mother was stripped naked and thrashed by the rapist's family as they refused to take the complaint back. However, the police is yet to take any action on the matter.
In Badaun, two minor Dalit girls were gang-raped and their bodies were hanged from a mango tree. Meanwhile in a third incident that took place in Azamgarh on Friday, a minor was gang-raped by four men. An FIR was filed but no arrests have been made till now.
The incidents are fast snowballing into a crisis, and has the Home Ministry seeking report from the UP government. Akhilesh has now promised that the cases will be sent to a fast-track court and the guilty will be punished swiftly.
In the light of the recent events, Union minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi blamed the police laxity. "If people want a CBI enquiry, then I will ensure that," PTI quoted her.
Reports have also surfaced, stating that new PM Modi himself has taken stock on the matter and has cracked the whip on the brutal gang-rape and murder case of the two minor girls.
The move from the PMO is seen as part of BJP government's "zero tolerance'' approach towards crime against women, and a signal that the BJP is beginning the groundwork for 2017 Assembly elections in the state, a Deccan Chronicle report noted.
The report further stated that Modi had directly sought a detailed report from the Union home ministry on the gruesome rape of the two teenage girls in Badaun. The UP Chief Minister was reportedly asked to sent in a detailed report, which was then studied by home minister Rajnath Singh.
