Dhankhar slams Kapil Sibal’s ‘symptomatic malaise’ remark on Kolkata rape case: ‘Doing greatest injustice…’

Image Source : PTI Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Congress leader Kapil Sibal

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday (August 30) lashed out at senior Supreme Court lawyer and Congress leader Kapil Sibal over his purported remark in which he said that the Kolkata doctor rape-murder incident was a “symptomatic malaise” and suggested that such incidents are commonplace. The Vice President called for a deterrent ecosystem to punish the perpetrators for such crimes of rape.

Referring to President Droupadi Murmu’s exclusive article for PTI — her first statement on the incident — Dhankhar reiterated her expression, “Enough is enough.”

Murmu’s hard-hitting and personalised article, titled “Women’s Safety: Enough is Enough”, was the first time the president articulated her views on the August 9 Kolkata incident that has once again shaken the conscience of the nation and led to widespread, continuing protests.

Dhankhar slams Sibal

Slamming Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Kapil Sibal for stating in a purported SCBA resolution that the tragic incident was a “symptomatic malaise”, Dhankhar said it is doing “greatest injustice to the high position”.

“I am appalled; I am pained and somewhat surprised that someone holding a position in the Supreme Court Bar, a Member of Parliament, acting in a manner and what does he say? A symptomatic malaise and suggested that such incidents are commonplace? What a shame! Words fail me in condemning such a stance. It is doing greatest injustice to the high position,” the vice president said while addressing students at Delhi University’s Bharti College during an event.

Ex-SCBA president Adish C Aggarwala had said the resolution was not officially approved by the SCBA Executive Committee and demanded that it be withdrawn or Sibal issue a public apology.

Dhankhar condemned the terming of violence against women as “symptomatic malaise” and stressed that such statements were akin to trivialising the suffering of girls.

“For partisan interest? For self-interest? You take a stance, leveraging your authority to perpetrate such kind of heinous injustice on our girls and women? What can be a greater injustice to humanity? Do we trivialise the suffering of our girls? No, not any longer,” he said.

Notably, Sibal is representing the West Bengal government in Supreme Court in the suo-motu case about the Kolkata rape case in which a doctor was raped and murdered in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

Dhankhar on President Murmu’s ‘Enough is enough’ statement

On President Murmu’s remarks, Dhankhar said, “President Murmu is a tribal woman herself. She has seen the ground reality. She rightly expressed in a media note that enough is enough for crime against women. I want this clarion call to be a national call. I want everyone to be a participant in this call.” “I want everyone in the country to heed the sane, sage and timely caution by the President of India,” he added.

Stating that the fear in the minds of girls and women is a cause of concern, Dhankhar said, “How can in the land of Bharat, girls and women be unsafe? How can their dignity be outraged.”

Referring to the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident, he added that the repeated incidents call for a strong ecosystem to punish the culprits and instil fear in their minds.

(With PTI inputs)

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