CPI(M) demands criminal proceedings against supporters of Kathua rape accused

Senior CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami today termed as "half-hearted" the submission of resignation by two BJP ministers in Jammu and Kashmir and demanded criminal proceedings against all those who obstructed the process of justice in the Kathua rape-and-murder case.

Forest Minister Lal Singh and Industries Minister Chander Prakash Ganga, who courted controversy by attending a rally supporting those accused of raping and killing a young girl in Kathua last month, tendered their resignation to the party state president Sat Sharma yesterday.

"Two cabinet ministers of the BJP and others openly tried to cover up the heinous gang-rape and brutal murder case of the nomad girl and shield the culprits," Tarigami said in a statement here.

"It was only after outrage across the country on heinous crime that the two ministers have half-heartedly submitted their resignation. What is required now is to initiate criminal proceedings against all those who obstructed the process of justice to the victim," he said.

Launching a scathing attack on the PDP, Tarigami asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and the party leadership to explain its position after tourism minister Tasdauq Mufti's comment that the PDP and BJP had "ended up being partners in a crime (for which) an entire generation might have to pay with their blood."