Opposition to bring up alleged harassment of Richa Singh in Parliament

NEW DELHI: While Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Parliament to make the International Women’s Day an occasion for only women MPs to speak in Parliament, Opposition parties are planning a counter by raising the issue of a woman student leader’s alleged troubles with Sangh outfits.

Opposition parties have given notice in the Rajya Sabha to raise the issue of alleged harassment of Richa Singh, the Allahabad University students’ union president, by Sangh Parivar activists and a section of university authorities.

According to Singh, her troubles including an internal inquiry and political pressure to remove her from the PhD course, started after she opposed BJP MP Yogi Adityanath’s visit to the campus last year.

Singh met leaders of various opposition parties in Delhi over the last week-end, to brief them about her troubles, and these leaders have decided to take up her issue in Parliament on Tuesday. JD(U)’s KC Tyagi, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury and CPI’s D Raja have already given notices for raising the matter in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Other Opposition parties, including Congress, are expected to join the chorus. The Opposition parties would link the issue of Singh to a “definite political pattern that resulted in the harassment of Rohit Vemula and Kanhaiya.”

KC Tyagi said, “the President, the vice-president and PM have been highlighting the need for women’s empowerment. We will raise the political targeting by Sangh outfits of Richa Singh, the first woman president of Allahabad University Student’s Union in the last 100 years.”