In a rather shameful turn of events in Rajasthan, three war widows of Pulwama martyrs were reportedly manhandled by police when they pitched for their demands. They alleged, "The police have treated us very badly. Our husbands were martyred to protect the country. Shoot us too. But don't misbehave,"
The three war widows later on Monday met former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot and called for justice. After meeting them, Pilot said, "Action should be taken against those responsible for the misbehaviour with war widows. The whole country has seen how the police treated the heroines. That is condemnable. This kind of misbehaviour with the heroines is unacceptable. Agreed that it may take time to fulfil the demands, but it is wrong to misbehave with the war widows. It is not right for the police to treat women whom we respect as heroes."
He further said, "Those who have given martyrdom for the country, their demands will have to be met by crossing all barriers. The promises made to them were not fulfilled. They must be fulfilled at all costs. The government, whether it is of the Centre or the State, should fulfil the demands."
"It is not right if the government says that there is no provision. When provisions for others can be changed, a way out can be found by changing the provision for these war widows too. Everything is possible if you have the will to work," he added.
Manju, wife of Rohtash Lamba, who was martyred in the Pulwama attack, Madhubala Meena, wife of martyr Hemraj Meena and Sundari Devi, wife of Jeetrat Gurjar, said "No one is ready to listen to our demands. Introduce us to Priyanka Gandhi. You get us justice. For the last seven days, we have been sitting without eating and drinking, but no one has taken care of us. When we started going to meet the Chief Minister, the police misbehaved with us so much that we cannot tell," they added.
According to IANS, on Monday afternoon around 1.45 pm, the security personnel once tried to stop the war widows who suddenly arrived at the official residence of Pilot located in Civil Lines (behind the Raj Bhavan). Numbering around three, they had a discussion with the security personnel. After that they went inside and sat down. Pilot came out and spoke to them while sitting on the ground with them. First they were fed food at Pilot's bungalow.
On the other hand, the Congress-led Ashok Gehlot government was slammed after the incident and termed as the most insensitive party by people with netizens trending 'Pulwama Widows Betrayed' on Twitter. Some also demanded the resignation of the Rajasthan CM over the incident.
(With IANS Inputs)