Sorry, Mrs Dikshit! But the Nirbhaya outrage was not 'media manufactured'
If Sheila Dikshit thinks she had no responsibility for the 2012 gangrape, then she must think twice before seeking votes.
On December 29, 2012, a part of me died. The girl I would never know passed away, after putting up a brave struggle. The girl named Nirbhaya, by large sections of the media and the public, was dead.
The outrage that followed was unprecedented.
But no, Mrs Sheila Dikshit — it was not blown out of proportion by the media, as you have opined in a recent interview. The timing — apart from everything you said — could not even be worse. Delhi is going to the polls on May 12 and you are the Congress candidate from the North-East Delhi constituency.
Given everything, your words amaze.
"There are so many cases like this taking place today," Dikshit reportedly said about the Nirbhaya case — which made international headlines as it shook the conscience of the nation.
The gangrape took place — in the very midst of India's highly secure capital. The perpetrators were not hardened criminals — one of them was a minor. It was their idea of fun; they most likely thought they'd get away.
It is so sad to read a three-time former Chief Minister, a most respected, erudite and senior politician, speaking like this now.
Probably, I think, Nirbhaya's parents were right in choosing not to vote. Those criminals took their future away from them and the state did little to help. The almost-sordid sense of 'sensitivity' that politicians sometimes display keeps me wondering — what exactly do we vote for?
Yes, copycat incidents have followed.
There was no drastic reduction in the number of crimes against women. Mrs Dikshit was, maybe, a bit bitter about losing her power in the aftermath. Maybe she was tired or, maybe she had a bad day, or maybe anything — but surely, rapes are never just a little thing in the newspapers. Never, ma'am.
If according to you, making Delhi safer for its citizens was not your responsibility, and that of the central government, then one may wonder why you are seeking the very same people's mandate again? If you couldn't do it then, how, and what, would you do now?
Nirbhaya's going was no small deal. It's tragic you apparently haven't understood that, Mrs Dikshit. Not even now.