Noting that the national capital recorded highest cases of crimes against women in 2016, Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Friday said that Delhi Police was not being held "accountable" and that the Central government should undertake to fill up its vacancies soon.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data revealed that with a crime rate of 182.1 crimes per one lakh population, Delhi last year recorded the highest number of crimes against women, among metropolitan cities.
"Delhi Police is not being held accountable. Our party women's wing has been demanding the issue of women's safety to be considered beyond politics. Several BJP parliamentarians themselves reside in Delhi but they are not paying any heed to it," AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey told media here.
The Delhi High Court on November 2 directed the the Ministries of Home and Finance to expedite filling up of vacancies in the police force in connection with a plea seeking better security for women.
"The Central government is playing deaf to such orders. They always steer away from the duty by putting across the excuse of budget issues," said Pandey.
He said slogans like 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' and 'Bahut Hua Naari par vaar, Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar' "stand lilliputian against the plight of women in the state".
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"The dignity of our mothers and sisters is much beyond your Rs 500 to Rs 800 crore," he said.
Stressing that there has been a delay in the recruitment process, Pandey requested the Home Ministry to undertake it and complete it shortly.
Referring to the "Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar" slogan, a popular election catchphrase used by the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of 2014 general elections, AAP spokersoerson Alka Lamba said: "The women of the state are yet again questioning -- ab kiski sarkar (now, whose government is it?"
"Centre's NCRB records are only showing the reality. The national capital which has been titled as the rape capital continues to carry the tag."
She noted that states that recorded the highest number of IPC crimes were all BJP-ruled -- Uttar Pradesh at 9.5 per cent, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 8.9 per cent and Maharashtra at 8.8 per cent.
Lamba also slammed BJP MP Kirron Kher for her statement on Chandigarh gangrape case. Kher had said that the woman, allegedly gangraped by an autodriver and his two accomplices, should have been more alert and not boarded the vehicle as three men were already sitting inside it.
"Our mentality, which blames the victim and not the accused, is responsible for the condition of women in this country," said Lamba.
Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla, who had held the Women and Child and Social Welfare portfolio in the first AAP government, said: "If it is difficult to manage the the Delhi Police that comes under the direct supervision of the Centre, the charge should be given to the elected government in the state."
--IANS
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