Priyanka Gandhi Flags Rising Violence Against Women, Urges Centre and States to Act

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday expressed deep concern over a series of sexual assaults on women and minor girls in Delhi and Bihar, describing the attacks as "horrible" and warning that such crimes were not only rising but turning increasingly violent.

Speaking to reporters, she said the country had never been safe for women and that the situation was worsening. She argued that announcements of large schemes and programmes carried little meaning if the safety of women on the streets could not be guaranteed.

Her remarks followed a string of assaults in the national capital over the past couple of weeks. On September 10, a 16-year-old girl was gangraped and killed in Swaroop Nagar. Six days later, a minor girl was sexually assaulted inside a shop in Sadar Bazar when she had stepped out to buy stationery. On September 21, a six-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl were assaulted in two separate incidents in Delhi.

In Bihar's Jamui area, a girl and a boy were harassed by a group of men on the roadside while the minors were on their way home.

The Congress MP from Wayanad said the issue of women's safety demanded serious thought from everyone, and that both State governments and, in particular, the central government needed to work out how women could be made to feel safe.

Ms. Vadra is in Keralam for a few days. Asked about her plans for her constituency, she said it was a longer trip and that she hoped to meet as many people as possible and understand their concerns in depth so that she could take appropriate action.