Centre for ‘beti bachao’, Rajasthan’s Congress govt for ‘rapists bachao’: BJP

New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) The BJP on Saturday hit out at the Congress government in Rajasthan over the alleged rape of a child by a police official, saying the incident has not only shamed the state but the entire country.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said while the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre believes in "beti bachao" (save daughter), the Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan stands for "rapists bachao".

The state government's action is marked by incompetence and connivance, he said, accusing the administration of stirring into action only after protests broke out after initially trying to hush up the crime.

Poonawalla cited a number of cases of atrocities against women and girls, including those involving police and other government officials, to allege that rapists enjoy "high confidence" in the poll-bound state.

A minor girl was allegedly raped by a police sub-inspector in Rajasthan's Dausa district on Friday. Local residents in large numbers gheraoed the Rahuwas police station shouting slogans against the police.

Noting that the child was only four years old and came from a Dalit family, the BJP spokesperson alleged that an FIR was registered only after protests erupted amid efforts to save the guilty person and remove evidence. Protectors have become predators because the state government has a "pro-active" and institutional system to help save rapists, he alleged, adding that family members of some Congress leaders have been involved in brutalisation of women.

"This is the guarantee the Congress government in Rajasthan has delivered," Poonawalla said.

Anywhere between 18 and 22 such incidents are reported from the state every day, he claimed, and also alleged that Rajasthan has become number one in cases of atrocities against women and Dalits.

He also cited some comments of Gehlot and minister Shanti Dhariwal to accuse the government of "victim-shaming." Taking a jibe at Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had come up with slogan "ladki hoon lad sakti hoon", he said women in Rajasthan are asking "ladki hoon bach sakti hoon?" Will the Congress continue to save rapists and criminals, he asked and went on to claim that women voters in Rajasthan have decided to throw out the most "anti-women and anti-Dalit" government in the country. Assembly elections are due in Rajasthan on November 25.

The BJP spokesperson also referred to some controversial comments made by Congress ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar when he was recently highlighting his government's efforts to bring down fertility rate. The Congress and other opposition parties suffer from this "Nitish mindset" in their stand on women-related issues, Poonawalla said. PTI