By IANS,
New Delhi : With controversy brewing over Congress youth icon Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on burnt bodies and the rape of women in a Greater Noida village during a farmers stir, the party Wednesday went into damage-control mode, saying he had never said 74 people were killed there.
“Rahul Gandhi had merely stated what the villagers had told him at the meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday,” Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said, even as the party stuck to Gandhi’s demand that the Uttar Pradesh government order a judicial probe into the allegations of men being burnt and women raped in Greater Noida’s Bhatta-Parsaul village.
“Whatever has come in the media in unfortunate. Nowhere did he (Rahul Gandhi) mention the number of 74 or 74 bodies. Rahul Gandhi had only said that at one place an ash heap of 70 foot area was there in which bones were found,” Dwivedi told reporters.
Rahul Gandhi has been joining villagers of Noida, who are protesting against land acquisition. Media reports had quoted villagers of Bhatta-Parsaul claiming there was police brutality, but no complaint of rape of women and burning of men.
On the party’s views on Rahul Gandhi’s remarks over burning of men and rape of women, Dwivedi said,”This is a matter of investigation. It should be investigated. If bones have been found, whose bones are these…should be found out. And if atrocities have taken place against women and they were even beaten up, why has it happened?”
He said, people must have told Rahul Gandhi on the alleged rape of women and burning of men. “He (Rahul Gandhi) was not present there. He went later on. Whatever has been told to him, he must have repeated that. Naturally whenever you go after some incidents, whatever people tell you, you repeat those things.”
Calling for investigation in to the allegation, the party leader said “If it (allegation) is not correct, it is all right. But if it is correct, it is a very serious matter. Whatever may be the fact, this should come out.”
Asked if the controversy would affect Congress’ plans to take up the farmers’ agitation issue, he said the party was protesting over an issue and was serious about it.