Wednesday, 07 December 2011-CHANDIGARH: The slapgate incident regarding slapping of women teacher Varinder Kaur, by Akali Sarpanch Balwinder Singh Toti at Daula village in Mukatsar district on Sunday has come at an inappropriate time for Prakash Singh Badal –led SAD-BJP combine government with the state bracing up for the assembly polls approaching near.
The incident has come under sharp criticism from various quarters not only in the state but in the entire country as the incident involving Akali Sarpanch Balwinder Singh Toti beating woman teacher, Varinder Kaur caught on the camera was being flashed across the TV channels in the country.
The slapgate incident has given the Congress fair amount of ammunition to put the Badal government on the mat and derive political advantage as much as possible before the assembly polls. The SAD-BJP combine government seems to be have been pushed on the back foot due to inadequate handling of the slapping incident by its spin managers as they had not been able to contain the damage so far. It would be interesting to see that with the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PHRC) and National Commission for Women (NCW) also asking the Badal government to provide all the details of the incident manages to wriggle out of the current situation arising due to slapgate incident.
The Sarpanch, Balwinder Singh Toti, who is under the scanner in slapgate incident, continues to deny shamefully that he slapped a woman teacher despite being caught clearly on the camera. And the incident too happened in the Bhatinda Parliamentary constituency represented by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, wife of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal who had been spear-heading a movement " Nanhi Chaan". Nanhi Chaan has been started as a movement to tackle the twin issues of environmental damage and female foeticide in Punjab.
Dr Malti Thapar, President Mahila congress Punjab while strongly condemning the incident asserted that this shameful incident brought to fore the prevailing law and order situation in the state. She said that there seems to be absolute lawlessness prevailing in the state in the present regime of SAD-BJP combine government headed by Prakash Singh Badal.
Interestingly, the victim-women teacher also hails from the home district of the chief minister.
Protesting teachers and villagers (post slapgate incident)
were roughed by the policemen at Sukhna village in Muktsar.
Besides this, there had been strong reactions on the slapgate incident on micro-blogging site twitter with BJP MP Varun Gandhi tweeting: "When Pawar gets slapped, politicians express outrage and parliament comes together. But when a helpless woman gets slapped, there is total silence."Actor Shah Rukh Khan said: "Just saw a male sarpanch slap and rough up a woman teacher on TV ... disgusting & should be punished for sure."
The noted Punjabi singer Rabbi Shergill speaking to Punjabnewsline said that a grown-up person (Sarpanch) beating a young woman teacher is really shameful. He said that being a Punjabi, I feel ashamed at such sort of incidents sullying the image of state.