After the death of a college student, she set himself on fire on alleged sexual harassment, kicked a storm in Odisha, in which the opposition targeted the ruling Mohan Majhi, which they call “systemic failure” and “institutional betrayal”.
The college student, who accused a professor of sexual harassment and was struggling for her life for days, leaned to her injuries late on Monday night. He accused college officials of inaction on his complaint about alleged harassment.
His funerals were held in his original village in Balasore district.
Subsequently, the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress protested to the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party government with their youth and student wings, protesting in the premises of Bhubaneswar, where they were admitted.
In a post on X, the former Chief Minister and the current leader of the state opposition, Naveen Patnaik said: “It is even more disturbing how a failed system can take someone’s life. The most painful part is that it was not an accident, but the result of a system that kept quiet instead of helping. While struggling for justice, the girl finally closed her eyes.
Even though the college officials ignored his complaint about sexual harassment, she reached the Higher Education Minister, Chief Minister’s Office, a Union Minister and personally in search of justice from Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi.
“Even if a person had taken responsibility and intervened personally, perhaps the girl’s life could be saved. She did not only lose her life due to physical trauma, but also due to the negligence of the state government, who left her alone in her struggle. People should be held responsible in power”.
The story continues below this advertisement
BJD students and young wings announced a protest in Odisha, while the Congress and its left colleagues called the statewide bond on 17 July.
In a banged post, the Congress leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, called the student’s death “nothing less than the BJP’s murder”.
Gandhi said in a post on X, “That brave student raised his voice against sexual harassment – but instead of giving justice, he was threatened, tortured, and repeatedly humiliated. Those who were about to protect him, kept breaking him,” Gandhi said in a post on X.
Gandhi alleged that the BJP’s system “continued to mold the accused – and forced an innocent daughter to set herself on fire”.
The story continues below this advertisement
“This is not suicide; it is an organized murder by the system,” he said, questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” on such issues.
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reiterated that the incident would be investigated thoroughly and financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh would be announced for the student’s family.
Coming back to Gandhi, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that it is unfortunate that Rahul Gandhi and Congress are playing “cheap politics” on the sad incident related to Odisha’s daughter.
“Converting a serious and sensitive case into a political weapon @Rahul Gandhi shows the petty mentality. The incident in Odisha has shaken the entire nation, but the Congress has seized the opportunity to bake its political bread,” he posts on X.
,
