BJP questions Congress's silence on Tarun Tejpal's rape conviction

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi attacked the Congress over its alleged links with former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, who was sentenced to 10 years in a 2013 rape case, and questioned the opposition's silence on the matter.

BJP National Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on Monday attacked the Congress over its alleged links with former Tehelka Editor-in-Chief Tarun Tejpal after he was found guilty by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court in a 2013 rape case and sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. He questioned the silence of the Congress and other opposition parties over the matter.

On Thursday, the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court sentenced former Tejpal to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in the 2013 sexual assault case filed against him by a junior colleague, more than a decade after the alleged incident and years after his acquittal by a trial court had been challenged by the Goa government.

Trivedi questions Congress-Tejpal links

Addressing the press conference in the national capital, Trivedi said, "Now that he (Tarun Tejpal) has been convicted, I want to remind you of the relationship between him and the Congress. Sonia Gandhi, who was the UPA's top leader, wrote to then Finance Minister P Chidambaram in September 2004, asking that Tehelka and its financier not be subjected to harassment or unfair treatment."

"In 2010, then Law Minister Veerappa Moily gave Tejpal an award for excellence in journalism. In 2013, Digvijaya Singh praised his work against communal forces. After his acquittal in 2021, Tejpal also thanked people from the Congress for helping him in the rape case. I want to ask the Congress party to clearly explain what relationship existed between the two," he further said.

BJP spokesperson on Tehelka sting operation

Trivedi alleged that the Tehelka group had refused to provide complete tapes for verification during the inquiry into its sting operation, and claimed that the Congress government did not table the Justice Phukan Commission report in Parliament after it came out. He said the issue was later raised by the BJP government through a 41-page summary report.

"Just recently, Tarun Tejpal, the Editor-in-Chief of the controversial magazine Tehelka, was found guilty by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court in a 2013 rape case and sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. This matter is important today because, even after so many days have passed, not a single word has been heard from the Congress side. Nor from any opposition party, nor from any institution that proclaims itself the self-appointed protector of women's interests," he said. "This shows how one-dimensional, one-sided, and prejudiced the thinking is on issues like freedom of expression or the persecution of women. This is the very business house that had conducted a bizarre kind of sting operation. When Atal Ji's government constituted an inquiry commission under the chairmanship of Justice Phukan, it was an opportunity when the sting-operating group refused to hand over the entire tapes for verification. There couldn't be more suspicion than this. And when the inquiry report came, by then the government had changed, and the Congress government never even tabled that inquiry report on the floor of the House. When the BJP government raised the issue, a 41-page summary report was tabled on the floor of the House. And today, when the culprits have been proven guilty, I want to remind everyone that their connection is with Congress," he further said.

Background of the 2013 case

The case related to Tejpal dates back to November 2013, when a female journalist working with Tehelka accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside a hotel elevator in Goa on November 7 and 8. Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013, and was subsequently charged in September 2017 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including rape, sexual harassment and wrongful confinement. He pleaded not guilty, and his attempt to get the charges quashed by the Supreme Court failed, with the apex court directing that the trial be completed within six months. (ANI)

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