Beti Darao, Balatkari Bachao, Congress hits out at BJP

New Delhi: Congress hit out at BJP on Tuesday over the Hapur gang-rape incident, claiming that rather than the slogan 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' which was coined by the Narendra Modi government, the ideology of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is that of 'beti darao, balatkari bachao' (scare the girl child and save the rapist).

Addressing media here, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill accused BJP of not providing help on time to the young widow who was allegedly sold by her father and gang-raped by her 'buyer' and his friends in Hapur.

"The shocking incident being reported today all over India that a woman from Uttar Pradesh set herself ablaze and is in critical condition in AIIMS with 80 per cent burns in order to ensure that her voice reaches the BJP government, specifically Uttar Pradesh government, is a living cruel reminder of the fact that the main agenda of the political quarter is not to the save girl child and educate them but to scare the girl child and save the rapist. (beti bachao, beti padhao nahi beti darao, balatkari bachao)."

A widow in Muradabad set herself on fire last month after she was gang-raped and sold for Rs 10,000 by her parents and later allegedly turned away by Hapur Police. With more than 80 per cent burns, the victim is struggling for life at a hospital in Delhi.

The victim has been identified as a resident of a village under Babugarh police jurisdiction in Hapur. She was allegedly gang-raped in 2016.

The Congress spokesperson also took a jibe at BJP's top leaders and claimed that they are not concerned about the rising crime against women across the country but are only concerned about electioneering.

"The PM and the UP CM are busy campaigning and not understanding a woman's pain who became the victim of such a heinous crime. The Congress demands answerability and accountability from the PM and from the CM on account of crime against women. We also want an answer on the pattern that wherever crimes against women take place, why the system under the BJP becomes lethargic and indifferent. We have also noticed that whenever there is a crime against women, BJP workers, lawmakers are involved in some manner or the other," he said.

"If at all BJP comes to power again, under Yogi Adityanath's rule, the rapist will have acche din but not women. Under the BJP rule, women have to burn themselves to get justice, Not only in this case but the same happened in Unnao. The victim protested for six long months to get justice. She also threatened the government by saying that she will also burn herself if her plea is not heard," he added.

Shergill, in his concluding remark, quoted the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data and said "after BJP came to power in 2014, crime against women alone in Uttar Pradesh has increased by 34 per cent. Child rape cases have also increased in the country by 83 per cent."