Mumbai gang rape: Let's BOO these silent leaders

Thursday evening’s horrific gang rape of a photojournalist at the deserted Shakti Mills compound in Mumbai’s Lower Parel area has again shocked the country to the core. Women across India are increasingly feeling helpless and outraged over the government’s inability to provide them even basic security.

After the terrible gang rape and death of a paramedical student in a moving bus in Delhi last year, and the consequent citizens’ protests that reached the boundaries of even the Rashtrapati Bhavan, women in India had made it clear that hollow promises of authorities won’t work any more. However, the Mumbai incident has unfortunately brought back to the fore that absolutely nothing has changed on the ground.

Worse, the stalwarts of the government and the opposition are yet to break their silence over the incident -- as if they are mocking the vulnerable Indian that women’s security is not that an important issue in this pre-election season of ‘populist politics’.

Let’s find out who are these prominent leaders, and BOO at their silence. Don’t forget to register your anger by clicking on the ‘BOO’ icon at the bottom of every slide.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the economist-turned-politician definitely not known for his oratory skills, is yet to officially react on the terrible incident. Probably Dr Singh, who is facing the opposition heat in Parliament these days over the missing coal-gate files, doesn’t think the gang rape warrants a top slot on his priority list.

However, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday expressed anguish over the gruesome gang rape of the 23-year-old photojournalist in Mumbai.

"It is a heinous crime. I am saddened and pained over the gang rape of a photojournalist in Mumbai," she said interacting with reporters after inaugurating the National Media Centre in New Delhi.

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Equally silent is Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s poll campaign panel chief must be too busy preparing for another vitriolic attack on the central government.

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This is certainly not the first time that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has not reacted on a burning issue, so we -- with a very heavy heart -- give him the benefit of the doubt. Probably the Nehru-Gandhi scion is still waiting for the ‘right moment’ to break his silence.

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Union Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath is yet to react to the horrific incident that has outraged the nation. The ‘non-reaction’ comes in the wake of reports that not a penny has been spent of the Rs 1,000 crore ‘Nirbhaya’ fund that was allocated by Finance Minister P Chidambaram for women’s safety in this year’s Union Budget, overseen by a task force headed by the minister herself.

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Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari is yet to speak on the issue. Is the firebrand politician, who minces no word while taking on the opposition, or the media for that matter, waiting to find out if the unfortunate victim had the ‘necessary journalistic qualification’, before giving a public reaction?