‘Beti Bachao’ was a warning: Randeep Surjewala

BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Beti Bachao” slogan was a warning and not a campaign for the girl child, the Congress alleged on Thursday. Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, AICC spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accused the BJP of protecting perpetrators of the Unnao and Kathua rape incidents. This came even as questions are being raised about AICC president Rahul Gandhi’s silence over the Kathua gangrape and murder.

“When Modi said Beti Bachao, little did the country know that it was a warning and not a campaign slogan. The BJP was asking the people of this country to save their girl children from their goons,” Surjewala said. Taking a jibe at BJP, which is staging a day-long satyagraha across the country, Surjewala questioned if the BJP would fast for the safety of girls.

While he demanded justice, compensation and rehabilitation for the Kathua victim’s family, Surjewala refused to comment on Rahul’s silence over the matter, especially when he has been outraging over the Unnao incident.

While 325 MPs of the NDA observed a day-long fast across the country, the Congress deemed it a “farcist fast of a fascist government”. Surjewala alleged that the BJP had used its proxy allies (TDP and AIADMK) to limit the Parliament’s legislative business to 1 per cent in the Lok Sabha with 19 minutes of functioning and 6 per cent in Rajya Sabha with 3 minutes of functioning. “When in the Opposition between 2009 and 2014, it stalled 66.8 per cent of Parliament sessions,” he said.