Hathras gang rape: Congress slams Yogi Adityanath, PM Narendra Modi's silence

Congress leaders on Tuesday hit the streets to protest against the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the death of Hathras gang-rape victim, seeking to recreate the agitation over a similar incident in 2012 that eventually brought down the UPA-II government.

The victim, hailing from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, breathed her last at AIIMS on Tuesday, a fortnight after the teenager was found with brutal injuries in the fields.

Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi slammed the Uttar Pradesh government helmed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the “deterioration of law and order” in the state.

“There is no semblance of safety for women. Criminals are committing crimes in the open,” Priyanka, AICC General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, said referring to incidents of gang rape in Shahjahanpur and Gorakhpur.

“Yogi Adityanath, you are accountable for the safety of women in UP,” she said.

Congress leaders, including P L Punia, Udit Raj and Amrita Dhawan and a group of party workers carried out flash protests near Parliament and were whisked away by the Delhi Police.

“It is unfortunate that the Uttar Pradesh government has now become synonymous with atrocities against Dalits, crimes against women. There is no redressal of grievances,” Punia, a Rajya Sabha member, said.

“Where is Yogi? Where is Modi? We spit on such governments that cannot protect women,” Amrita Dhawan, president of the Delhi unit of the Mahila Congress told reporters as she was whisked away by the police from near Parliament.

In Lucknow, Congress workers carried out a protest march demanding justice for the “Dalit victim”, but were caned by the police before being detained.

“The Prime Minister cannot just shut his eyes and sit tight. Yogi Adityanath, who spoke of crime-free Uttar Pradesh, has turned the state into a den of criminal activities,” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate told reporters here.