'Rape is rape', don't politicise: PM

Amid a nationwide outrage over the Kathua and Unnao rape cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said "rape is rape" and should not be politicised.

Modi, during the 'Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath' programme at the iconic Central Hall Westminster here, said, "We always ask our daughters about what they are doing, where they are going. We must ask our sons too."

The person who is committing these crimes is also someone's son, he said.

"I have never indulged in counting the number of rape incidents in this government and that government. Rape is rape, be it now or earlier. It is extremely sad. Don't politicise rape incidents," the prime minister said.

The rape of a daughter is a matter of shame for the country, he said.

Modi's remarks come in the backdrop of a nationwide outrage over the rape cases in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua and Uttar Pradesh's Unnao.

In the Kathua case, an eight-year-old girl from a nomadic community was raped and killed.

The rape victim had disappeared from a spot near her house in Kathua on January 10 and a week later, her body was found in the same area.

A Special Investigation Team of J&K Police Crime Branch, formed to probe the incident, has arrested eight people, including two special police officers (SPOs) and a head constable and a Sub-inspector, who was charged with destroying evidence.

In the Unnao case, the victim has alleged that she was raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar at his residence on June 4, 2017, where she had gone with a relative seeking a job.

In February, the girl's family moved court seeking to include the MLA's name in the rape case. After this move, the victim's father was booked by the police under the arms act on April 3 this year and put in jail on April 5.

Alleging inaction and coercion from powerful people, the victim attempted self-immolation in front of the UP CM's house on April 8, and the next day, her father died in jail with a post-mortem report suggesting serious injuries on his body.