Jammu, Apr 30
Barely hours after he took oath as the Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister, Kavinder Gupta stoked a controversy today by terming the gruesome rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua as a “small incident” which should not get so much attention.
JK @BJP4India Minister @KavinderGupta says #KathuaCase is a very small issue .
Highly insensitive stand. pic.twitter.com/mc5R6sVKZ8— Anil Tiwari (@Interceptors) April 30, 2018
1. Gupta said: “Kathua maamla ek chota sa maamla hai. Isko itna tool nahi dena chahiye (Kathua incident is a small incident which should not be given all this hype).”
2. “We have to think that this should never happen again, and the child gets justice. There are many challenges like this facing the government. We should not give this incident so much importance,” he added.
3. An old RSS hand, 59-year-old Gupta, who is an MLA representing the Gandhinagar assembly seat, was asked by reporters whether the reshuffle carried out by the Mehbooba Mufti government was a result of the Kathua case in which some BJP leaders had participated last month in a rally in support of the accused.
4. Known for having made controversial remarks during his stint as Speaker of the State Assembly, Gupta said the Kathua incident was “minor issue (chhoti si baat)”.
5. As the Speaker of the J&K Assembly in 2015, he courted controversy by claiming that Rohingyas who settled near the Sunjuwan Army camp were involved in the terror attack carried out in February this year. Later, he directed that his words be expunged.
6. National Conference’s president for Jammu province and MLA Davinder Singh Rana condemned Gupta’s remarks saying they showed “insensitivity to such a gory crime which is a slur on humanity and has brought shame to Jammu and Kashmir”. This is a sad reflection of the mindset of the ruling party, he added.
7. Congress leader Salman Nizami tweeted “After pro-rapist MLA was inducted in Ministry, this shameless/heartless BJP Neta- Dy CM JK Kavinder Gupta says Rape and murder of 8-year-old girl in Kathua is a SMALL issue, should not be given much hype. And his supporters Laugh…..! Shame BJP Shame (sic).”
8. As his comments were slammed, Gupta issued a clarification saying, “Continuously debating on the issue is not right. Giving this matter weight is not a good thing. I said that there are a lot of issues like this,” he said.
9. Gupta, State BJP chief Sat Pal Sharma and six others were today sworn in as ministers in the State’s PDP-BJP government led by Mehbooba Mufti. The major shake-up of the council of ministers followed BJP ministers Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga resigning from the cabinet earlier this month after they were criticised for taking part in a rally in support of those accused in the Kathua rape and murder case.