Kathua, Unnao rape cases: Manmohan Singh asks PM Modi to speak more often, says he 'should follow own advice to me'

Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his long silence over the Kathua and Unnao rape cases, his predecessor Manmohan Singh asked him to "follow his own advice” and “speak more often”.

Two recent incidents -the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir and the alleged rape of a teenager by a BJP MLA in Unnao - have triggered massive protests in the country. After a long silence, Narendra Modi on Friday called the incidents “shame” for the country and asserted that the guilty will not be spared.

In an interview with Indian Express, Singh said he was glad that Modi finally broke his silence.

Often criticised for not speaking up on critical issues, especially during the last years of his 10-year tenure, Manmohan Singh said he “had lived with comments like these his whole life”.

“But I think the Prime Minister should follow his own advice to me and he should speak more often. Through press (reports) I know that he used to criticize me for not speaking up. I feel that the advice that he used to give me, he should follow it himself,” he said.

The Congress leader said that Modi’s failure to speak up earlier had allowed people to think that they could get away without stern action being taken against them.

“I do feel that those in authority must speak up in time (so as) to give a lead to their followers,” he said.

Singh said he was distressed to read reports about the rape of an 8-year-old child.

The body of the girl was found in Rasana forest on January 17, a week after she went missing while grazing horses in the forest area.

She was allegedly raped by six men who had held her in captivity in a village temple for a week in January. The victim was drugged, raped repeatedly before being bludgeoned to death.

On January 23, the government had handed over the case to the Crime Branch which formed a special investigation team and arrested eight people, including two Special Police Officers (SPOs) and a head constable.

He said that it was the "disgraceful that “two ministers government were also party to fanning communal tensions."

He was referring to former BJP ministers in Jammu and Kashmir government - Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga - who resigned after outrage.

The Modi government also faced criticism over a BJP MLA's alleged involvement in the rape of a 17-year-old girl in UP's Unnao. In BJP-ruled UP, a girl has alleged that she was raped by MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar at his residence on June 4, 2017 where she had gone with a relative seeking a job. A day after she attempted self-immolation in front of the CM Yogi Adityanath's house, her father died in custody with post-mortem report suggesting serious injuries on his body.

The case has been handed over to the CBI which has arrested the accused MLA.