|
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena refused to meet a women's delegation from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla who were demanding justice for alleged sexual abuse of a female doctor by a Delhi hospital Medical Superintendent. AAP has called the L-G anti-women and said that it is a matter of shame.
"The LG is completely anti-women," Rakhi Birla charged, as the group--comprising MLA Dhanwati Chandela, Preeti Tomar, Vandana Kumari, Bhavana Gaur, and women councillors--stood outside for hours. The delegation condemned the ongoing abuse and the transfer of the victim, instead of filing charges against the accused. Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla further stated that it was a matter of great shame and surprise that the elected women representatives of Delhi had come to meet the LG after informing him in advance. She said, "We understand that the LG might have been busy, but he has a large staff--anyone could have met us. We stood outside LG's residence for several hours, but no one spoke to us. No one even asked about the issue that brought us here. Do they have any concrete information or a response regarding the issue we raised? No such conversation took place." Rakhi Birla continued, "After going to Raj Niwas, it became clear that the LG does not respect women. He is completely anti-women and enjoys insulting them. For the past year, a female doctor has been mistreated at a government hospital in Delhi. She tried repeatedly to contact officials and speak with the Health Secretary, but her plea was ignored and her complaint was never addressed. Not only was she harassed, but she was also demoted and transferred to another hospital." She further mentioned that when they came to raise the voice of the victimized female doctor, to show support, and to demand the arrest of the person who harassed her, hundreds of police officers were deployed to stop them. She questioned whether they looked like terrorists or criminals. She added, "We stood outside the gate of the LG House, repeatedly requesting a meeting, but no one came to meet us on such a serious issue. The security of the nation's capital, Delhi, falls under the Union Home Minister. The LG is responsible for Delhi's security, yet on such a serious matter, he is inside celebrating behind closed doors, while the elected female representatives wait outside. No one came to meet us." Rakhi Birla added that the video recording of the female representatives had been done by the employees of the LG House. She mentioned that they had sent their letter to the LG on Sunday at 10:40 a.m., but the same letter was returned to them by a steno-level officer. She said, "The Union Home Minister and the LG should be ashamed that they are waiting for an incident like what happened in Kolkata to occur in Delhi. The victimized doctor has been harassed for a year and is being threatened. "Today, they sent the police after the elected women representatives instead of listening to us or giving us any assurance. If the elected representatives of Delhi are waiting for hours outside the LG House to raise their voice for a woman doctor, how much will the police listen to an ordinary woman?" stated Rakhi Birla. (ANI)
|
