Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led government at Centre on 10 years of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ initiative, asking the ruling dispensation why it adopted the policy of “save the criminals” instead of “save the daughters”.
Referring to 10 years of the initiative, he highlighted several incidents of crime against women reported in the BJP-led ruled states, and posed three questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.
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“Why did the BJP adopt the policy of ‘save the criminals’ instead of ‘save the daughters’? When will the women of Manipur get justice? Be it the Dalit daughter of Hathras or the daughter of Unnao, or our champion female wrestler, why has the BJP always given protection to criminals?,” the Congress chief questioned.
Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, citing crime against women, said, “Why are 43 crimes against women recorded every hour in the country? Every day, 22 crimes are registered against women and children of the most vulnerable Dalit-Tribal community of our country.”
Taking a jibe at the Prime Minister, the Congress president said he has spoken on women’s safety many times in his speeches at the Red Fort , but there is a difference between words and actions.
“What is the reason that till 2019, about 80 per cent of the total amount allocated for the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ initiative was spent only in media advertising?,” he asked.
Kharge asserted that in the last 11 years, the Modi government has reduced the budget spent on the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
“Will sticking ‘Beti Bachao’ on the back of every truck or painting it on every wall help in crimes against women, provide employment opportunities for them, give them better health facilities or give women justice after atrocities? BJP’s hollow advertisement of ‘enough attacks on women’ shows its utter hypocrisy after 10 years,” he charged.
