"Man running this country believes in violence": Rahul Gandhi

mangaloretoday / NDTV

Wayanad, Dec 07: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over multiple cases of violence against women from across the country. "India is known as the rape capital of the world. Foreign nations are asking the question why India is unable to look after its daughters and sisters," Mr Gandhi said.

The Congress leader’s remarks come amid the nationwide outrage over the death of a young woman who was set on fire by her alleged rapists in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao as well as the gang-rape and murder of a veterinarian in Telangana.

"There is a reason for the breakdown of our institutional structures, a reason that people are taking law into their own hands. It is because the man who is running this country believes in violence and indiscriminate power," Mr Gandhi said while addressing party workers in his constituency of Wayanad in Kerala.

Mr Gandhi also targeted the Prime Minister and the ruling BJP at the centre over MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is accused of raping a woman in Unnao in a separate case. "A UP MLA of the BJP is involved in rape of a woman and the Prime Minister doesn’t say a single word," Mr Gandhi said.

Questions were raised on Friday’s pre-dawn firing near Hyderabad in which the four men accused of raping the 27-year-old veterinarian were killed. The police claimed was it done in self-defence. The men had attacked the police and snatched weapons when they were taken to the crime spot for investigations, Cyberabad police chief VC Sajjanar said. He also claimed all four had confessed.

Opposition parties have targeted the BJP over women’s safety after  the 23-year-old woman from Unnao died at a hospital in Delhi.

"The sad and heart-wrenching death of Unnao’s innocent daughter, which is a shame on humanity, has angered and stunned me. One more daughter lost her life while waiting for justice and security. I convey my condolences to the her family in this time of grief," Mr Gandhi’s tweet, roughly translated from Hindi, read.