New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday raised serious questions about the Centre's commitment to women's safety and empowerment.
He claimed that a recent RTI revelation has exposed that a whopping Rs 455 crores have gone missing from the Modi government's "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme, launched in 2015 to address gender imbalance and promote women's empowerment.
In a social media post on X, he wrote, "RTI has revealed that Rs 455 crores have 'disappeared from Modi government's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' scheme."
He said that the BJP's advertisement "Enough of attacks on women" now rings hollow, given the numerous instances of harassment and violence against women that have occurred under the BJP rule.
"Echoes of the BJP advertisement "Enough of attacks on women" have been mocking the cries of all the women for the last 10 years who have been harassed under the BJP rule and sometimes by BJP goons. Be it the recent rape of a woman in a government bus in Pune, or our daughters of Manipur and Hathras, or the female Olympic champions - there is no trace of women's safety left under the BJP rule," Kharge posted.
He accused that the RTI revelation has also brought to light the government's alleged attempts to hide statistics related to the scheme.
"We had recently asked three questions to Modi Ji on "Beti Bachao", one of which was on hiding statistics. Today, the latest revelations of RTI have once again exposed the lies of the Modi Government," added Kharge.
Earlier in January 2025, the Congress President questioned the scheme's effectiveness, touted as a revolutionary initiative to empower women and address the declining child sex ratio in India.
Kharge questioned the government's commitment to women's safety and empowerment on the "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme, launched by the Modi government in 2015 after completion of 10 years of the scheme.
In a post on X, he raised three critical questions, seeking answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Why did the BJP adopt the policy of "Save the criminals" instead of "Save the daughters"? When will the women of Manipur get justice? Whether it is the Dalit daughter of Hathras or the daughter of Unnao, or our champion female wrestler, why has the BJP always protected the criminals?" he wrote.
Kharge also raised concern over the disconnect between words and actions, despite the Prime Minister's repeated assurances on women's safety.
"Why are 43 crimes against women recorded every hour in the country? Every day 22 crimes are registered against women and children of the most vulnerable Dalit-tribal class of our country. Modi ji has spoken about women's safety many times in his speeches at the Red Fort, but why is there a difference between words and actions?" added the Congress President.
He also highlighted the issue of the misallocation of funds. "What is the reason that till 2019, nearly 80% of the total amount allocated for the "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme was spent only on media advertising?" he added.
Kharge also alleged the Modi government had stopped providing the data spent on the "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme when the misallocation of funds was exposed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
"When this fact was exposed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, the funds used for the scheme were cut by a massive 63% between 2018-19 to 2022-23, and later by merging it with a scheme called "Sambal" under "Mission Shakti", the Modi government stopped providing the data spent on the "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme," added Kharge.
He also questioned the Centre over the lack of accountability and accused the Modi government of reducing the budget for the Ministry of Women and Child Development by half over the last 11 years.
"There has also been a 30% reduction in the funds allocated and the funds used for "Sambal" in 2023-24. What was this manipulation of data done to hide? Why has the Modi government reduced the budget spent on the Ministry of Women and Child Development in the last 11 years to half of the total budget?" said Kharge in the post.
He said that BJP's slogan "Enough of attacks on women" rings hollow after 10 years of broken promises.
"Will sticking "Beti Bachao" on the back of every truck or painting it on every wall stop crimes against women, provide employment opportunities to them, give them better health facilities or give women justice after atrocities? BJP's hollow advertisement of "Enough of attacks on women" shows its utter hypocrisy after 10 years!" wrote Kharge.
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