BJP attacks Rahul Gandhi for not speaking on rape cases in Congress-ruled states

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday accused Rahul Gandhi of using the case of alleged rape and murder of a Dalit girl in southwest Delhi for "furthering" his political agenda, and asserted that the law and order machinery has moved swiftly to deliver justice to the victim's family.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told a press conference that his party had no issue with Gandhi, who visited the girl's family earlier, calling for justice but what was condemnable was the Gandhi family's "selectivism" as they never tweeted or spoke a word in the cases of atrocities against Dalit girls in the Congress-ruled states like Rajasthan, Punjab and Chhattisgarh.

He also accused Gandhi of violating the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and another law dealing with juveniles by tweeting a picture of the girl's parents as disclosing any aspect of a rape victim's identity is an offence.

Patra urged the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to take cognisance of the matter and issue notice to the Congress leader. "This is using Dalits and the poor for furthering your own political agenda," he said, attacking him.

Gandhi had earlier met the family of the nine-year-old Dalit girl who died here following an alleged sexual assault and asserted that he is with them on the path to justice and "will not back down even an inch". After meeting the victim's family, the former Congress chief said the family is demanding nothing but justice and is saying that they are not getting it and need all the assistance in this.

Patra cited a number of heinous cases of rapes and other atrocities on Dalit girls and women in Rajasthan, Punjab and Chhattisgarh to hit out at the Congress leader over his "silence". "You close your eyes and open only when you think you will have some political benefit out of it. This is appalling," he said, adding that the Delhi Police has arrested four accused in the case.

A Dalit's daughter is certainly India's daughter, the BJP spokesperson said quoting a tweet of Gandhi and shot back to ask if Dalit daughters in these Congress-ruled states are not India's daughters. Rajasthan has topped the country in the cases of rapes, Patra said, citing official figures.

The Rajasthan government had blamed registration of false FIRs allegedly by Dalits for the high numbers, he claimed.