The recent rape cases in India- that is the Unnao rape case and the Kathua rape case has sparked the nation; particularly the latter one.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted a call at short notice and hundreds of his supporters turned up at India Gate for a midnight vigil demanding action against the culprits in the Kathua and Unnao rape cases.
“This is a national issue, not a political issue. This is an issue concerning the women of our country. There are people from all parties gathered here. The government has to do something to stop the increasing attacks against women,” the Congress president said at the Congress president said at the protest venue.
Gandhi was joined by his sister Priyanka and her husband Robert Vadra and several Congress leaders including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni Digvijaya Singh, and Salman Khurshid.
Several senior Congress leaders, including Ahmad Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Ambika Soni, joined the Thursday midnight candle-light protest. People also gathered at the place in sizeable numbers to express their support.
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They marched from the DPCC office at midnight along the main roads of the capital to India Gate to join a large crowd, comprising both party supporters and apolitical citizens, demanding urgent action against the perpetrators of two heinous gang rapes — one in Unnao (UP) and the other in Kathua (J&K).
The Congress President tweeted on late Thursday night about his intention to go on a candle march.
Like millions of Indians my heart hurts tonight. India simply cannot continue to treat its women the way it does.
Join me in a silent, peaceful, candlelight vigil at India Gate at midnight tonight to protest this violence and demand justice.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 12, 2018
How can anyone protect the culprits of such evil?
What happened to Asifa at #Kathua is a crime against humanity. It cannot go unpunished.
What have we become if we allow politics to interfere with such unimaginable brutality perpetrated on an innocent child?
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 12, 2018
READ ALSO: Unnao Rape Case : BJP MLA detained
Several Congress leaders also poked fun at the Modi government’s Beti Bachao slogan, saying the daughters were not safe in the country. While a ruling BJP MLA is one of the accused in the Unnao rape case, BJP lawmakers have been demonstrating in support of the accused in the Kathua rape case.
“The PM had given a slogan ‘Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao’ and it’s in his regime that our girls are being raped. He isn’t taking action against his ministers who are trying to save the rape accused, ” said Ghulam Nabi Azad.
DPCC President Ajay Maken said, “Atrocities are being committed against women in the country and the government is sleeping. The BJP is not only involved directly, it is also protesting in favor of the culprits and stopping law enforcement agencies from doing their job. It is a sad state of affairs.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was apparently caught unawares about the protest, with Congress workers from Delhi and neighboring areas rushing to the venue on the call of their party leader.
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