The politics over the Nirbhaya case is unfortunate and put the whole nation to shame. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is fighting to retain power in Delhi, and main challenger BJP are blaming each other for the delay in the execution of the four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya case. Asha Devi, the mother of the 23-year-old medical student who was raped and fatally injured by four men on a bus in Delhi in 2012, triggering an unprecedented outpouring of public anger, has said that the case is being used for political mileage. She is absolutely right. On Friday, the AAP and the BJP indulged in high political drama over the case the entire day.
Union minister Smriti Irani and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were attacking each other over the issue. Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh, Akshay Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta were to be hanged at Delhi’s Tihar jail on 22 January. However, the hanging could not go ahead due to legal issues, and now a new date, 1 February, has been set for their hanging. This kind of dirty politics over the brutal rape and death of a young girl is uncalled for. Instead of indulging in a blame game, the AAP government in Delhi and the BJP government at the Centre should work together to ensure that the killers are brought to justice at the earliest. After the horrific Nirbhaya incident, the government of India and Delhi promised to take steps to make the national capital safer for women. But unfortunately, the situation has not changed much. Delhi continues to be very unsafe for women.