India News | Omar Abdullah Defends Rahul's 'women Being Sexually Assaulted' Remark, Says Nothing Unusual in His Statement

Jammu, Mar 20 (PTI) National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Monday came in defence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his "women are still being sexually assaulted" remark, saying he did not say anything wrong and there is nothing unusual in his statement.

"Is this not a fact that sexual violence is prevalent in India. Do we need Rahul Gandhi to tell us that. Open any newspaper, do we not hear cases of rape so what did Rahul Gandhi say that is so unusual," he told reporters here.

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The National Conference (NC) leader was responding to a question about a Delhi Police team reaching Gandhi's residence on Sunday to inquire about his "women are still being sexually assaulted" statement made during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Police had earlier issued a notice with a questionnaire to Gandhi seeking details of victims who approached him about sexual harassment as they want to initiate a probe into the matter.

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"He (Gandhi) did not say anything (on sexual violence) specific to Kashmir. He himself told me during the course of his foot march (Bharat Jodo Yatra) that women came up to him at numerous places and complained that they have been victims of sexual violence," Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said.

The NC leader said, "Is India rape free country? Is India free of sexual violence? We know sexual violence takes place so why is government apologetic about it. What they need to do is to find those guilty (of sexual violence) and punish them. Rahul Gandhi did not say anything wrong." 4/17/2022

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)