BJP hits out at Gehlot govt, alleges it is for 'rapist bachao'

NEW DELHI: A day after the rape of a five-year-old Dalit girl by a sub inspector in Dausa district of poll-bound Rajasthan, BJP on Saturday lashed out at the Ashok Gehlot dispensation, saying the crime reflected the "poor" law and order situation in the state where "perpetrators of such heinous crimes have become fearless" due to the inaction of the authorities.

At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Shehzad

Poonawalla

questioned the silence of

Congress

leaders over the gruesome crime and said while the Centre believes in "beti

bachao

" (save daughters), the Gehlot-led government stands for "rapists bachao". He alleged that the rising number of cases of atrocities against women and children, including those involving police and government officials, pointed to rapists having "high confidence" in the state.
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the FIR was registered only after protests erupted amid efforts to save the guilty and remove evidence. The state government's action is marked by incompetence and connivance, he said.
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," he said.

Alleging that Rajasthan had 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' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had come up with slogan "ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon", Poonawalla said women in Rajasthan are asking "ladki hoon, bach sakti hoon?"
Assembly elections are due in Rajasthan on November 25.

The BJP spokesperson also referred to the recent controversial comments made by Congress ally Nitish Kumar in the Bihar assembly where the CM was highlighting his government's efforts to bring down fertility rate. Congress and other opposition parties suffer from this "Nitish mindset" in their stand on women-related issues, Poonawalla added.