Rahul Gandhi: Save daughters from BJP leaders

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a dig at the BJPs slogan of "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" and said it should be "BJP ke Mantri se Beti Bachao", as Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his silence over charges of sexual harassment made against his Union Minister MJ Akbar.

Addressing a rally at Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi targeted the Modi government at the Centre and the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in the state over rising unemployment, corruption and unabated farmer suicides.

“Fingers are being raised at Modi's Minister (Minister of State for External Affairs M. J. Akbar), but our Prime Minister is silent.

"When BJP MLA (Kuldeep Singh Sengar) raped a girl in Unnao our Prime Minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (Adityanath) kept mum.

"The BJP's slogan of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' (save girls, educate them) must now be reframed into 'BJP ke mantri aur MLA se beti bachao' (save daughters from BJP Minister, MLA)," said Gandhi.

The Congress chief's remarks came in the wake of over a dozen journalists naming Akbar for sexual harassment and molestation during his long stint as editor of various publications.

Defying calls to resign, Akbar has rubbished allegations made by 14 journalists and has filed a criminal defamation suit against one of them.

Attacking both Modi and Chouhan over a host of issues, Gandhi said Madhya Pradesh topped the country in terms of malnutrition and was one of the least developed states.