‘BJP Hatao, Beti Bachao’: Cong On International Women’s Day

On Friday, March 8 — the International Women’s Day — the Congress attacked the Modi government and said that women across the country are demanding answers to questions such as why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not visited Manipur yet and is “silent” on allegations of sexual harassment by women wrestler against a BJP MP.

It is International Women’s Day today, said Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, and that “we don’t expect the prime minister to do anything beyond paying salutary tributes to women”.

He said in a post on X, “Nevertheless, here are some key questions that women across the country are asking him: Manipur has been in a state of virtual civil war since last year, and women have been among the most affected victims. Videos have emerged of women being assaulted and paraded naked – in a state that is experiencing a ‘double-anyay’ regime of BJP in the state and the Centre. Why has the Prime Minister not even bothered to visit the state?”

Ramesh added, “The prime minister has been conspicuously silent on the severe allegations of harassment levelled by women wrestlers against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.”

The Congress leader asked what the Prime Minister’s stance on this issue is and does Modi consider Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh a member of ‘Modi ka Parivar’. Ramesh said, “Modi hain to mehengai hain! There has been a rapid rise in the prices of food and essential items. Does the prime minister have a plan to shield households from the brunt of this price rise?”

One of the hallmarks of the “anyay kaal” has been the mass unemployment crisis, Ramesh claimed.

He added, “One particularly concerning consequence has been that women job seekers, discouraged from seeking employment, have dropped out of the workforce altogether.”

Ramesh said that the percentage of women in the labour force is now 20 per cent lower than it was under former prime minister Manmohan Singh, a trend that can undermine the economy’s long-term potential.

He asked if that Prime Minister has a solution to bring women back into the economic mainstream.

Ramesh added that the Prime Minister launched the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” scheme to great fanfare soon after coming to office in 2014. However, it has since emerged that close to 80 per cent of the scheme’s budget is earmarked for advertisements.

He asked, “Does the prime minister have a more meaningful vision to stop female infanticide and promote women’s education? Or is the issue just another opportunity to slap his face on an advertisement and give him another means for branding himself?”

Ramesh added, “The women of India demand and deserve answers. BJP Hatao, Beti Bachao!”