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Hours after taking oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kavinder Gupta made a gaffe on Monday, 30 April, when he called the Kathua rape case a "small incident".
Coming under fire for his insensitive comment, Gupta soon attempted to clarify his previous statement, by saying that since the matter was sub-judice, it would be improper to bring it up time and again.
Speaking to ANI, Gupta said:
The Kathua rape case, where an eight-year-old was raped and murdered, had shocked the nation with its brutality.
Gupta was sworn in as the state’s Deputy Chief Minister earlier in the day, a day after BJP leader Nirmal Singh tendered his resignation.
Gupta has also served as the mayor of Jammu for three terms consecutively from 2005 to 2010, which is a record.
He has also been a general secretary of the BJP's state unit.
Gupta was elected as an MLA for the first time in 2014 from the Gandhi Nagar seat, where he defeated a sitting Congress minister Raman Bhalla.
Gupta was soon unanimously elected as the Speaker of the J&K Assembly.
He is known for his work for the upliftment of the poor and downtrodden sections of the society as well as for his efforts to eradicate social evils.
(With inouts from PTI)
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