New Delhi:- Attacking the Centre over the issue of women’s safety in the wake of the death of a 14-year-old Dalit rape victim here, AAP today said its woman MLAs will meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh to ask what steps has Delhi Police taken to address the issue.
AAP’s Delhi unit convener Dilip Pandey said while the Centre is prompt in making use of Delhi Police to arrest legislators, it does not show the same enthusiasm in dealing with the issue of women’s safety.
He said the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has been demanding formation of a committee comprising the Home Minister, Lt Governor, chief minister and representatives of the DCW to address the issue but has found little success.
“The graph of crime against women in Delhi is increasing.
We don’t see any explicit steps on the part of the Delhi Police, which comes under the Centre, to address the issue of security of women.
“Our women MLAs, the women and youth wing will meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh tomorrow and raise pertinent points,” Pandey said.
A 14-year-old Dalit girl who was repeatedly sexually assaulted and was forced to drink a corrosive substance died at a hospital here yesterday.
The party’s Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha said had there been prompt action by the police against the criminals in the case, the girl would have probably been saved.
“The girl was kidnapped twice and her family was threatened. She was even given an acidic substance to drink which made 70 per cent of her organs dysfunctional. Had the police taken timely action, the girl could have been saved,” Jha said.
The case also prompted an anguished DCW chief Swati Maliwal to lash out at the Centre and Delhi police on the issue of women’s safety. It also evoked sharp criticism from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday.
“Why is Modi ji not arresting perpetrators of crime against women. It is shameful that Modi ji has diverted the entire police from protecting women to arresting his political opponents,” Kejriwal had tweeted.
PTI
