Sacked NCW member cries “conspiracy”
While announcing that she resigned from the Congress party on February 28, sacked member of the National Commission for Women (NCW) member, Nirmala Venkatesh, on Monday said she will approach the Supreme Court to seek reversal of the decision ousting her from the commission and rejecting her interim report on the Mangalore pub attacks.
Venkatesh attributed her sacking to a “deep political conspiracy” and added that she was deeply hurt by conspiracy to “tarnish her image”.
Addressing a press conference in Bangalore on Monday Venkatesh said: “This is a deep political conspiracy against me to tarnish my image. I am being made a political victim. I am deeply hurt and shocked.”
“I am shocked that certain people (whose names she did not wish to mention), who have personal dislike for my honest work and clean image are out to settle personal scores against me in this manner”, added the visibly upset former Congress leader.
Refraining from venting ire against Union Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury or NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas, Venkatesh blamed the “system” for her plight.
The other part of the two-member commission constituted to probe into the January 24 Mangalore pub attack, advocate V Sreenivas said the rejection of the report as well as her removal from NCW would be challenged in the Supreme Court “immediately”.
Nirmala hit the current controversy after her report on the pub attack blamed lack of security at the pub in Mangalore for the incident when around 40 members of Sri Rama Sene, a right wing Hindu group, bashed up a group of young women for “violating traditional Indian values”.
Vankatesh’s report on the incident drew the ire of not only Renuka Chowdhury but NCW chairperson Girija Vyas who dismissed it as the member’s personal view and not of the Commission.
Chowdhury, describing Vankatesh as a flaw in the system, sacked her from the NCW on Feb 27.
“So many cases were investigated by one-member committee. I can take suo motu action. I have the quasi-judicial power and can take suo motu action as per the NCW Act,” she asserted.
Venkatesh, however, rubbished suggestions that she was planning to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is in power in Karnataka.
Correspondents say Venatesh participated in an anti-terrorism rally organised by BJP in Bangalore Saturday. The rally was addressed by BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani. Venkatesh was on the dais along with several BJP leaders.
