Sonia Gandhi on Hathras rape case : She wasn't raped, she was murdered

In a video the Indian National Congress President came out with a strongly worded message questioning the state of governance in Uttar Pradesh and the despicable state of women's safety in India. She asked for justice for the Hathras rape survivor. A 19 year old Dalit girl died after she was brutally gang-raped and injured. Gandhi's statement noted that this case is another Nirbhaya for India. She added that this rape incident was a case of murder of a young daughter of India.

In terms of her political statement, Gandhi said, the current government in UP was to blame and that the murder was an outcome of its poor governance standards.

हाथरस में मासूम लड़की के साथ जो हैवानियत हुई, वो हमारे समाज पर कलंक है।

हाथरस की निर्भया की मृत्यु नहीं हुई है, उसे मारा गया है- एक निष्ठुर सरकार द्वारा, उसके प्रशासन द्वारा, उत्तरप्रदेश सरकार की उपेक्षा द्वारा।

कांग्रेस अध्यक्षा श्रीमती सोनिया गांधी का वक्तव्य:- pic.twitter.com/1ER1DpCWYP

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 30, 2020

Sonia Gandhi's message as well as the earlier video put out by Priyanka Gandhi, both questioned the manner in which this young girl was cremated. Reportedly the girl's parents were not allowed to be part of the cremation and see their daughter's face one last time. Videos, like the one posts by journalist shows that the police tried talking the parents out of it and at times even suggested that the rapists alone we not at fault.

ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE - Right behind me is the body of #HathrasCase victim burning. Police barricaded the family inside their home and burnt the body without letting anybody know. When we questioned the police, this is what they did. pic.twitter.com/0VgfQGjjfb

— Tanushree Pandey (@TanushreePande) September 29, 2020

#Hathras victim burnt against her family’s will. Police locked family members & locals inside the house & forcibly burnt the body. Family couldn’t even see their daughter for one last time.

If torture done to the girl was horrific. This is beyond humanity. We’re finished pic.twitter.com/WkBiyHWLbF

— Tanushree Pandey (@TanushreePande) September 29, 2020

Sonia Gandhi's comments come at a time, Indian citizens and netizens asked, 'where is Smriti Irani' and made the hashtag trend. Irani is the Minister of Women and Child Development in India and experts expressed disappointment at her not speaking up directly on the issue of the Hathras rape case. The only thing she did do, was to retweet the tweet by Chief Minister of UP, Yogi Adityanath suggesting that a special investigations team would be appointed into the incident.

मुख्यमंत्री श्री @myogiadityanath जी द्वारा हाथरस की घटना पर जांच हेतु तीन सदस्यीय SIT गठित की गई है जिसमें अध्यक्ष सचिव गृह श्री भगवान स्वरूप एवं श्री चंद्रप्रकाश, पुलिस उपमहानिरीक्षक व श्रीमती पूनम, सेनानायक पीएसी आगरा सदस्य होंगे।

SIT अपनी रिपोर्ट 7 दिन में प्रस्तुत करेगी।

— CM Office, GoUP (@CMOfficeUP) September 30, 2020