NEW DELHI, Dec 30 - Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports and State BJP president Sarbananda Sonowal has contradicted Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi�s claim on women�s condition in Assam, claiming that crimes against women in the State is among the highest in the country.
Alleging that the Chief Minister has wilfully withheld vital information from the people of Assam, the State BJP president in a statement said that Gogoi forgot that absolute numbers do not tell anything substantial enough for a conclusive argument.
The National Crime Records Bureau data for the year 2014 reveals that the rate of cognisable crime against women is 123.4 in case of Assam, which is the highest crime rate against women in India. Interestingly, the Chief Minister has ignored this singlemost important data to judge Assam�s performance on such an important parameter, he claimed.
It is deplorable for the guardian of a State to claim as a matter of interpretation that the intensity of the 19,139 cases of atrocities registered against women in Assam is in any way less than what the data reveals for some other States. Each instance of crime against women is a blot on the social fabric of Assam, Sonowal stressed.
By quoting selected information from the NCRB data and wrongly interpreting that women in Assam are safer than the rest of the country, Tarun Gogoi has disrespected the pains and ordeals of ordinary women in Assam. Tarun Gogoi has not just breached the trust which millions of Assamese vested in the constitutional office he holds, but he has also made a travesty of intellectual practice.
Only a few days ago, Congress leader Nilamoni Sen Deka made controversial and disrespectful remarks against a senior Union Cabinet Minister. After Deka�s comments, Gogoi himself committed a factual blunder of fudging data on crime against women.
The Chief Minister claimed in a press conference that the condition of women in Assam is better than many States ruled by the BJP. He quipped that only 19,139 cases of atrocities against women were reported in Assam and drew comparison with States like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to draw home his conclusion.
