Don’t feel safe as woman MP, says BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi

BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar MP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Aparajita Sarangi here on Friday said she doesn’t feel safe in Odisha as a woman lawmaker, the day after she faced violent protests allegedly by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) workers at Acharya Vihar locality in the state capital late on Thursday evening.
The Lok Sabha was forced to remain confined in a house for more than three hours from 8pm till 11pm on Thursday as some people confronted her, pelted stones and eggs raising ‘Go Back’ slogans when the MP was holding a meeting with senior citizens.
“I am a woman MP and I am not safe. It’s the duty of the government to provide me security as an elected representative and as an MP,” she told a news conference.
Describing the incident, she said she had to stay in the drawing-room of a widow for three to four hours as the BJD workers turned violent and started pelting stones. “Who would have been responsible if an elderly citizen was injured?” she questioned.
Holding chief minister Naveen Patnaik responsible for the situation, Aparajita said, “As head of the family (government) I hold the CM responsible for this. I have my doubts whether the CM is aware of the lawlessness. If he doesn’t know it’s more unfortunate for the 4.5 crore people of Odisha.”
Aparajita said while Odisha has been found be to the third-worst state in crimes against women as per National Crime Records Bureau 2020, the BJD is trying to make it to the number one position.
The IAS officer turned parliamentarian sought security for her, saying that she would move around every ward in Bhubaneswar and in other parts of the state. Seeking an impartial inquiry into the Thursday incident, Aparajita questioned if Odisha was going West Bengal way and the BJD was replicating the Trinamool Congress.
The BJP MP said there was a well-crafted strategy to selectively target her and asked the BJD what it feared from here. She said she would take it the attack as a challenge and would continue serving people, the reason why she entered politics. Inspired By