Maharathy in soup for  comment on rape case

Bhubaneswar: Pipli MLA and Agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy once again came under fire for making “irresponsible comments” on judgment in the sensitive Pipli gangrape case.
Maharathy, who was forced to step down earlier from the council of ministers for his alleged involvement in the incident was reported, comes under attack by the Opposition Congress and BJP.
A Bhubaneswar court Monday acquitted the two accused siblings in connection with the case. Maharathy had hailed the court order and said, “My sympathies are with the victim, but I honour the court verdict. I had then said that the truth will prevail. The verdict has separated milk from water.”
Denouncing Maharathy’s comments, the Congress and BJP activists demanded immediate removal of Maharathy from the state Cabinet. BJP also demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said “He (Maharathy) is saying that the verdict gave justice to the victim. But I would say this statement exposes his ego and contempt for natural justice. This is condemnable and shows the flawed policies of the state government for women and the Scheduled Caste people.”

BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi termed Maharathy’s comment on the incident as “unfortunate and saddening”.