Odisha college student's death: Rahul says country wants answers, not PM's silence

THE Congress hit out at the BJP on Tuesday after an Odisha college student who set herself ablaze following alleged sexual harassment by a professor died, with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying the country wants answers and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence".

- PBD BUREAU/PTI

Gandhi's remarks came after the Odisha college student died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar.

The second-year integrated B.Ed student of the Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore died on Monday night, after fighting for life for three days. She took the extreme step on Saturday over the alleged inaction against the professor and suffered 95 per cent burns.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said the death of a daughter fighting for justice in Odisha is a "direct murder by the BJP system".

That brave student raised her voice against sexual exploitation but instead of justice, she was threatened, harassed and humiliated repeatedly, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

Those supposed to protect her kept oppressing her, Gandhi added.

"Like every time, the BJP system kept protecting the accused -- and forced an innocent daughter to set herself on fire," he said.

"This is not suicide, this is an organised murder by the system," Gandhi alleged.

"Modiji, be it Odisha or Manipur — the daughters of the country are burning, breaking down, dying. And you? Sitting silent. The country does not want your silence, it wants answers," the former Congress president said.