NEW DELHI: Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP of failing to ensure women’s safety, claiming that its “double engine” governments are proving to be a “curse for daughters.” This criticism came after the harassment of a Union minister’s daughter.
The party also asserted its commitment of holding these governments accountable on women’s safety.
Addressing a press conference, Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba cited crime statistics from states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, and Rajasthan to attack the BJP government.
“The BJP’s ‘double engine’ governments in the country are proving to be a curse for daughters. A case of harassment of a Union minister’s daughter and her friends has come to light in Maharashtra. After the FIR, it was revealed that the molester was a former BJP councillor—Piyush More. His pictures are there with the chief minister of Maharashtra and other top BJP leaders,” Lamba said.
She further added, “If the Union minister herself does not get justice, then she should resign from her post and fight the battle of her daughter along with many such daughters.”
Lamba’s remarks followed the Jalgaon police arrested two more individuals and detained a minor boy in connection with the harassment case. Earlier, one suspect, Kiran Mali, was apprehended. On Monday, two more individuals—Aniket Bhoyi and Anuj Patil—were arrested, and a minor boy was detained, an official from Muktainagar police station confirmed.
The incident took place on February 28 at Sant Muktai Yatra in Kothali village, Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district. A total of seven individuals have been named in the FIR, filed based on the minister’s complaint. Police investigations revealed that the accused allegedly misbehaved with several girls and clashed with the bodyguards accompanying them.
With International Women’s Day approaching on March 8, Lamba questioned the BJP’s commitment to women’s safety, saying, “A 19-year-old girl was gang-raped at knife-point in Pune, a video of the incident was made, but no action was taken in the case. There have been 17,000 cases of crime against daughters in Gujarat in the last nine years. Every month, about 200 daughters reach the police station for justice.”
Listing other cases of crimes against women in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, Lamba pointed out, “Whether anyone stands up for these daughters or not… but the Congress Party and the Mahila Congress will definitely stand by them strongly.”
She further claimed that in Rajasthan alone, 20,000 cases of women’s harassment had been registered in the last six months.
“If people sitting in responsible positions are not able to punish the criminals, then they should also be relieved from their posts. That is why we have resolved that we will not let the government take the issue of women’s safety lightly. We will hold the governments accountable in this matter,” Lamba said.