Save daughters from BJP, says Rahul
‘Now, Modiji will give a new slogan. Earlier it was ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.’ Now there is a new slogan. Just ‘Beti Bachao’ (Save the daughters). Forget Beti Padhao’
NEW DELHI: Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Kathua and Unnao rape incidents, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he will come up with a new slogan asking people to save their daughters from his BJP.
“Now, Modiji will give a new slogan. Earlier it was ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.’ “Now there is a new slogan. Just ‘Beti Bachao’ (Save the daughters). Forget Beti Padhao (teach the daughters),” said Gandhi at the launch of ‘Save the Constitution’ campaign here.
“And save daughters from whom... from whom? Save them from the BJP, save them from the MLAS of BJP,” he added.
“The government will not save the daughters of the nation. Their parents will save the daughters. This is the truth of the country.”
In January, an eight-year-old girl went missing while grazing horses in Rassana forest in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. A week later, her raped and battered body was recovered. Investigations revealed she was held captive in a temple and was sedated before being repeatedly raped and murdered.
In Unnao, a 17-year-old was raped last year allegedly by BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar, who has been named in a CBI FIR. The incident came to light after the victim tried to set herself ablaze outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence.
Rahul also questioned Modi on associating spirituality with cleaning of toilets and also took a jibe at him on frying of ‘pakodas’.
“The Prime Minister sees spirituality in cleaning of toilets and making ‘pakodas’. But, for Modi, becoming the Prime Minister only is spirituality,” the Congress leader said at the nationwide ‘Save the Constitution’ campaign launched here.
Quoting Modi from his book “Karmyogi”, Gandhi said: “This quote relects his thinking and ideology.” The Congress leader further quoted Modi as saying:
“What is the spirituality of a person working to clean toilets? Has anyone experienced the spirituality of a man of the Valmiki samaj, who has to remove human excreta and dirt everyday.
“I do not believe that he accepted the task merely to ill his belly. He would not have stayed for so long in that profession, and certainly not from generation to generation. Probably, sometime for happiness of God and society, he would have thought it is his responsibility to keep the environment clean and he accepted the work and continues to do the work for generations out of his spirituality.”
Gandhi said: “This is the thinking of our Prime Minister − ‘a person from the Valmiki community who cleans the toilet doesn’t do it to ill his stomach but for spirituality’.
Every poor and every person has to understand − this is our PM’S thinking.” Gandhi said that the Dalits were angry with Modi because of this ideology.
“You may garland B.R. Ambedkar’s statue or a picture, but with such thinking you can never respect him. And every Dalit understands this. They know that this person (Modi) has no place for Dalits, weaker sections, and women, in his heart,” the Congress chief said.
Rahul Gandhi also claimed that atrocities on Dalits were increasing in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and elsewhere.
“They are being crushed, lynched, and attacked.” He said: “There is violence against Dalits in Una (in Gujarat), and the man (Modi) who sees spirituality in cleaning of toilets doesn’t speak even a word. When we raised our voice, after three days, he (Modi) came on stage and tears rolled down.”