A war of words erupted in poll-bound Haryana on Saturday after a woman Congress leader was ‘molested’ on stage during an event. The incident has spurred vehement calls for action from within the party while the BJP took jibes at the Opposition party. Meanwhile Chief Minister Nayab Saini said his government would take strict action if an application was filed before his government.
“I spoke to her, she told me that someone was touching her and trying to remove her from the stage. We saw the same in the video as well and when I confirmed this with her, she told me that someone misbehaved with her. If something like this happens to a woman today, it is highly condemnable. Action should be taken on this,” Seljatold reporters on Saturday.
The developments came even as voters in Haryana cast their ballots on Saturday. Voter turnout stood at 61% by 5:00 pm in the state.
The woman however claimed that “mischievous elements” were creating fake IDs with her name and commenting against her uncle and Congress candidate Jassi Petwar.
“Please don’t use my name. I am entirely with Congress. It can be seen that I was standing right next to my uncle Jassi Petwar. I stand with him and support him,” she said in a video message.
A video of the incident was first shared on social media by the BJP and purportedly showed a woman farm leader being molested during the event. The ruling party had lashed out at the Congress and tagged it as being ‘anti-women’.
“They don’t respect anyone including women, the poor, and Dalits. This is in their culture and DNA. If we get an application in this regard, then we will take action. Our government will take strict action and not spare anyone. Women are an integral part of the society,” CM Saini told ANI.
(With inputs from agencies)
