The Congress has said that if the State government does not reveal the name of the ‘VIP’ allegedly connected to the Ankita Bhandari murder case, its leaders will tonsure their heads and send the shaved hair by post to the chief minister. The former Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal said this while addressing the media at the Congress State office here on Sunday.

Responding to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s reaction to the Uttarakhand Mahila Congress head Jyoti Rautela and another party member shaving their heads recently in protest, Godiyal said that the Sanatan Dharma followed by the Congress is that of the heart and humanity while that followed by the BJP is politically motivated. “Whenever the BJP finds itself in a weak position it resorts to religion. The BJP State president cited Sanatan Dharma while calling the shaving of heads by our two women leaders unfortunate but ignored the Vedic verses which state that the gods rejoice in a place where women are respected. The respect accorded by the BJP to women is evident in Manipur and in cases like the Ankita Bhandari murder case in Uttarakhand- both States governed by the BJP.”

Responding to BJP accusing the Congress of playing politics in the Ankita Bhandari case, Godiyal said that the Congress is a political party and will indulge in politics in public interest. He said that it is not only the Congress but even the parents of the victim and multitudes in Uttarakhand who want to know the identity of the VIP involved in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. “If the State government doesn’t reveal the name of this VIP soon, our party leaders will get their heads tonsured and send the hair to the chief minister as a mark of protest,” said the former PCC president.