"College is run by Congress leader...": BJP hits back amid row over Dalit girl's suicide in Haryana

Kurukshetra (Haryana) [India], January 1 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party after a Dalit girl died by suicide after she was allegedly pressurised by the college authorities over "unpaid college fee" in Haryana.
Haryana Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Krishan Bedi alleged that the college was run by a Congress politician in Fartia Bhima village under the Loharu assembly constituency in the Bhiwani district of the state.
Bedi stated that the director of the college, where the girl studied, was a relative of the Congress MLA Rajbir Fartia. He said that Fartia won elections after running "propaganda" that fees won't be taken from SC students and their transport services will be waived.
Speaking to ANI, Krishan Bedi said, "In a college run by a Congress politician in village Fartia Bhima under Loharu constituency, a girl from the Dalit community committed suicide because the Director's son Rahul and daughter, and the Principal pressurised the girl to have physical relations with Rahul to get her college fee waived. She was so distressed that she took her life."
The Minister further accused Congress leaders Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala for "hiding" these facts and changing the angle of the issue.
Referring to the tweets of Congress leaders Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala where they slammed the BJP-led Haryana government for the incident and Surjewala called the incident "shameful", the minister claimed that both Congress leaders have tried to change the angle of the issue.
He further demanded the Congress leaders to take down their social media posts and apologise.
Bedi said, "Two politicians from Congress hid these facts and instead tweeted that the Haryana government is trying to hide the case of a Dalit girl's suicide due to her inability to pay college fees. The truth is that Congress MLA Rajbir Fartia, a relative of the college's Director, won the Haryana assembly elections after running propaganda that he would not take fees from SC students and give free transport services."
"Selja Kumari and Randeep Singh Surjewala should have demanded the arrest of the culprits instead of tweeting... They don't remember the time when under Bhupinder Singh Hooda's government, a Dalit girl and her grandfather from Mirchpur were burned alive in broad daylight... Both Selja and Surjewala should take their tweets down and apologise..." he added.
Speaking on the incident, Haryana Minister Anil Vij lashed out at the opposition Congress, saying that they need to understand the whole situation as the deceased girl had "levelled allegations" against a relative of a Congress MLA.

Furthermore, Vij asserted that the government will ensure that she gets justice.
Anil Vij said, "The Opposition always does politics...The deceased girl had levelled allegations against a relative of a Congress MLA. Congress needs to understand the whole situation...We will ensure she gets justice..."
This comes amid the row over the death of a Dalit girl in Haryana, who allegedly died by suicide for being 'pressurised' for paying fees.
Randeep Surjewala and Kumari Selja attacked the BJP over the incident and demanded justice for the victim girl.

हमारे संविधान की प्रस्तावना में समता, स्वतंत्रता, बंधुत्व और न्याय की बात की गई है।

लेकिन अफसोस है कि हरियाणा में एक दलित बिटिया को परीक्षा की फीस न दे पाने की वजह से आत्महत्या करनी पड़ता है।

यह घटना न केवल दुखद है बल्कि बेहद शर्मनाक है।

पीड़ित परिवार को न्याय मिलना चाहिए और… pic.twitter.com/VagByEtRb8

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) December 31, 2024

In a social media post on X, Surjewala wrote, "The preamble of our Constitution talks about equality, liberty, fraternity and justice. But it is sad that in Haryana a Dalit girl has to commit suicide due to not being able to pay the examination fees. This incident is not only sad but also extremely shameful. The victim's family should get justice and this case should be thoroughly investigated."

हरियाणा की एक होनहार बेटी दीक्षा ने आत्महत्या कर ली, क्योंकि उसे परीक्षा में बैठने नहीं दिया गया, उसकी गलती सिर्फ इतनी थी कि वह गरीब थी और दलित परिवार से थी। क्या शिक्षा अब पैसे और जाति से तय होगी?

'बेटी बचाओ, बेटी पढ़ाओ' का नारा देने वाली भाजपा सरकार क्या अब जवाब देगी कि… pic.twitter.com/r0nIHo5CIX

— Kumari Selja (@Kumari_Selja) December 31, 2024

"A promising daughter of Haryana, committed suicide because she was not allowed to sit for the exam, her only fault was that she was poor and from a Dalit family. Will education now be determined by money and caste? Will the BJP government, which gave the slogan of 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', now answer how long will daughters be crushed under the burden of poverty and caste? Is BJP's development limited to only a select few? Or do the dreams of Dalit and poor children have no value anymore?" read a social media post on X from Kumari Selja. (ANI)