Naveen Patnaik and Rahul Gandhi have shredded the Odisha BJP government
- Naveen Patnaik called the student's death institutional betrayal and planned injustice
- Rahul Gandhi termed the death as murder engineered by the BJP system
- BJP's Dharmendra Pradhan hit back, slamming Rahul Gandhi for "dirty politics" over a tragic event.
The Opposition in Odisha has launched a scathing attack on the state BJP government after the death of a college student, who set herself on fire after being sexually harassed by a faculty member.
Naveen Patnaik, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and former Chief Minister, said the sequence of events in the chilling case shows it is "nothing less than institutional betrayal - a planned injustice". Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has said the 22-year-old's death is "murder by the BJP system". Congress and seven other parties have called for an Odisha bandh on Thursday to protest against the Balasore incident.
In a post on X, Mr Patnaik said he was "deeply saddened and heartbroken" after the student's death. "It is even more disturbing to think how a failed system can take someone's life. The most painful part is that this was not an accident, but rather the result of a system that remained silent instead of helping. Struggling for justice, the girl ultimately closed her eyes," the former Chief Minister said.
Mr Patnaik said the student wrote to the college principal, but was ignored. "To seek justice, she reached out to the Higher Education Minister, the Chief Minister's office, and even a Union Minister. She also personally met the Balasore MP to share her plight. If even one person had taken responsibility and intervened personally, perhaps the girl's life could have been saved," he said.
"She did not lose her life solely due to physical trauma but also because of the negligence of the state government, which left her alone in her struggle. The entire sequence of events reveals that this is nothing less than institutional betrayal-a planned injustice," Mr Patnaik added.
The BJD leader urged Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati to ensure that those in power, "who failed to take any action despite the victim's desperate pleas, are held accountable" too.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described the college student's death as "murder by the BJP system".
"The brave student raised her voice against sexual harassment. But instead of giving her justice, she was threatened, intimidated, and humiliated repeatedly. The ones responsible for protecting her kept breaking her. Like every time, BJP's system kept shielding criminals and forced an innocent daughter to set herself on fire," Mr Gandhi said, adding, "This is not suicide, this is murder engineered by the system."
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "The country's daughters are burning, breaking, dying and you are silent. The country wants answers. India's daughters want safety and justice."
The BJP has hit back, slamming Mr Gandhi for "dirty politics" over a tragic event.
"The politics by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress over the Odisha daughter's tragedy is unfortunate. Making a sensitive issue a political weapon shows Rahul Gandhi's cheap mindset," Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a senior BJP leader from Odisha, said on X.
The Odisha incident, Mr Pradhan said, had shaken the country, but the Congress was sensing a political opportunity in it.
"Prime Minister Modi and BJP have always taken concrete steps to ensure safety and justice for women, but the Congress has always looked for political chances," he said, adding that this is not the
"time for cheap politics", but to ensure justice for the family. "Rahul Gandhi must apologise to the bereaved family for this irresponsible statement," Mr Pradhan said.
Earlier, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi expressed grief over the student's death and said all the culprits will face the strictest punishment under the law.
"I pray for the eternal peace of her departed soul. May Lord Jagannath grant strength to her family to bear this irreparable loss. I assure the family of the dead student that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law. I have personally issued instructions to the authorities. The government stands firmly with the family," he said in a post on X.
The second-year student of the integrated BEd course in Balasore's Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College set herself afire outside the Principal's office on Saturday. She was rushed to the district hospital with 95 per cent burns. She was later shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
