New Delhi: Caught in the eye of a storm, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley clarified the statement, in which he had said the December 16 gang rape a ‘small incident’ that went on to cost Delhi crores of rupees in potential tourism earnings.
Jaitley said, “It was not his intention to be insensitive when he talked about ‘one small incident of rape’ costing India billions in tourism. I regret that my speech was construed, or some word that I used was construed as insensitive; that was not my intention.”Â
While the comments sparked an outrage on the social media, it irked Nirbhaya’s father, too. Terming Jaitley’s statement as irresponsible, he said the comments made by the Finance Minister has deeply disappointed him.
Â
Further criticising Jaitley for his irresponsible remark, Nirbhaya’s father said such a statement encourages those who commit such crimes. The aggrieved father questioned the Finance Minister for linking the gruesome incident to the losses incurred by the tourism industry. “A honest citizen lost her life, isn’t that a loss to the nation?†he asked. Nirbhaya’s mother said she was “hurt” by Jaitley’s comments. “When it was necessary, they took Nirbhaya’s name for political purposes but now that they are in power, they call it small,” she said.
Â
India was left scarred by the horrific assault on a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on December 16, 2012. The woman was assaulted on a moving bus by six men who gang-raped her and tortured her with an iron rod. She died of her injuries a fortnight later, leaving a nation shocked and angry and setting in motion major changes in laws on crimes against women.
Six men were arrested, including a minor. Of the others, Ram Singh, the alleged ring-leader, was found dead in his prison cell and four others have been sentenced to death.
Â