Amruta Fadnavis attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a sharp response to charges he made against the deaths of Dalit man Somnath Vyankat Suryawanshi.
Somnath Suryawanshi is a 35-year old Dalit man who met his death in judicial custody on Dec 15. He died after being arrested in cases related to violence following an incident of statue desecration of Dr B R Ambedkar.
While defending Gandhi's assertions, Amruta Fadnavis retorted to IANS jokingly, "I think you are wasting your and my time discussing Rahul Gandhi with me. There are various things… There are people with brains. It is better to talk about them."
Rahul Gandhi visited Parbhani, the hometown of Suryawanshi, and met his family. He described the incident as "100 per cent a murder" and accused the police of custodial violence. He further alleged that Suryawanshi was targeted for being a Dalit and for his efforts to protect the Constitution. "The police have beaten him. murdered him in custody. He was killed because he was a Dalit. He was beaten and finished off," Gandhi stated emphatically.
He further charged Chief Minister Fadnavis of speaking lies in the state Assembly and hinted that the CM wanted to save the police by saying that nothing was wrong in the case.
Amruta Fadnavis also spoke on the debated issue of forming a Sanatan Board. Reacting to a query by IANS, she said, "Under legal and government guidelines, if such a trust is formed with proper rules, then there is no problem in it. After all, we are all Sanatanis.
This debate gained further momentum after a Tripura minister mooted the idea of forming a Sanatan Board for Hindus, in comparison to the Waqf Board for Muslims. He also proposed separate boards for Christians and Sikhs, which became a hot subject of debate.
Commenting on AAP's 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana' recently announced, Amruta Fadnavis lauded that the scheme indeed has all the potential of economically empowering women. Women who get selected under the scheme will get a monthly allowance of Rs 2,100. "It is a good scheme. It is one positive move to empower them economically," she said. Yet, added, "Now, still, there's a requirement to work upon so that women can walk on their own feet for the future.
The AAP has already started to register beneficiaries for this programme. It will provide support financially to women and generate economic independence.
