NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday attacked the BJP over the alleged involvement of its local leaders in the gang-rape of a BHU student, saying the ruling party gives the slogan of "Beti Bachao" but its actions are of "Beti rulao (making daughters cry)".
Mahila Congress chief Netta D'Souza said that on one hand the BJP says "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao", and on the other hand the truth is that it has become "Balatkaari (rapist) Janata Party" for women.
Two months after a woman student was allegedly gang-raped inside the IIT-BHU campus in Uttar Pradesh, police arrested three men on Sunday and opposition parties alleged that they were BJP functionaries.
The three accused claimed themselves to be the BJP's IT cell members on their Facebook page.
Sharing pictures of the three arrested men with senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, D'Souza urged the prime minister to break his "silence" on the issue.
"Two months ago, a student was gang-raped in Banaras Hindu University. After this incident, all three accused were clearly visible in the CCTV footage. Their names are Kunal Pandey, Abhishek Chauhan and Saksham Patel, all of them are officials of BJP IT Cell," the Congress leader said.
"On one hand, BJP says 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', and on the other hand the truth is that BJP has become a 'Balatkaari Janata Party' for women. Beti bachao ka nara aur kaam beti rulao ke (slogan of 'beti bachao' and action of 'beti rulao'," D'Souza said.
"In your (Prime Minister Modi) own parliamentary constituency, a girl student was gang-raped and the accused turned out to be BJP IT cell members. It took 60 days to arrest them because these rapists were campaigning for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh elections," she said.
If the BHU students had not raised this incident, it would have been suppressed like many other cases, she claimed.
Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh Dolly Sharma at the press conference also hit out at the BJP.
"Home Minister Amit Shah used to state that even if you search with binoculars in Uttar Pradesh, criminals will not be found. There is no need for binoculars, because you have the culprits sitting next to you," she said.
Sharma said bulldozers were not seen going to the houses of these criminals in Uttar Pradesh.
Opposition parties have targeted Yogi Adityanath government over the law and order situation in the state and alleged that those arrested in the case have links with the ruling BJP.