The Congress on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cowardice was on display as his government forced Twitter to remove the tweets of Rahul Gandhi in which he had vowed to fight for justice for the nine-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly raped and murdered.
Addressing a news conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said: “The Prime Minister is frightened by a young man who is capable of showing compassion. The entire government gets angry, ministers and the troll army starts attacking Rahul Gandhi because he stands by the victim’s family.”
“The photograph of Rahul Gandhi embracing a distraught mother who was given barely half-burnt legs of her daughter leaves the RSS-BJP enraged. The government mounts pressure on Twitter through its police to take down those tweets,” she said.
Shrinate added: “Modi’s cowardice is on display. A gruesome rape and murder has taken place in the national capital. Why are you silent? Why is the home minister silent? Your silence has ripped apart your hollow slogans (about women’s safety). We as women of this country are ashamed of our Prime Minister’s helplessness and insensitivity. We are proud of our leader Rahul Gandhi who spoke for Hathras, Unnao and now Delhi. It is shameful that the entire system wakes up to fight him, to derail the fight for justice.”
While the photographs and tweets of Rahul meeting the parents of the girl posted by him were taken down, the Congress on Sunday argued that the action was unjust as several Twitter accounts still had the photographs and similar texts. The party produced tweets of Delhi BJP leaders and members of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes that posted four photographs of their meeting with the family.
Congress leaders pointed out that the mother’s photograph was available on Twitter since August 2, a day after the incident, and Rahul posted the same on August 4. The family was protesting on the streets for justice and there was no need to hide the face as their identity was widely known and reported. Rahul’s posts were removed and account locked because identity of a rape victim is not supposed to be revealed.
Vowing not to be cowed down by such tactics, the Congress launched a massive campaign on Twitter under the hashtag “Main_bhi_Rahul.”
The party posted Rahul’s tweet on Sunday again, daring Twitter to take action and recalled how the young leader always stood by the oppressed and downtrodden.
One message said: “I will fight against injustice. I will fight against lies. I will fight against hate. I will fight against tyranny #Main_bhi_Rahul.”
Another said: “I stand with women. I stand with farmers. I stand with youth. I stand for India.”
The party fielded its four leaders — Supriya Shrinate, Ragini Nayak, Alka Lamba and Amrita Dhawan — to argue how casual and irresponsible the government has been about women’s safety.
Ragini Nayak said: “People see the government as guardian, believe that the agencies will act in their defence. But the government is attacking those who extend a helping hand. The police tried to stop Rahul and Priyanka when they tried to reach Hathras where the rape victim’s body was burnt without family’s consent.”
Giving details of several heinous crimes against women in the national capital in the recent past, Alka Lamba said: “We thought the 11 women ministers of the Modi government will demand a discussion in Parliament on the horrendous Delhi incident in which the rapists burnt the child’s body. But they have the time to go to Dilli Haat for shopping on Handloom Day, not to offer even a word of sympathy for the victim. Why is it that the criminals have no fear of law? Why is action invariably delayed?
Amrita Dhawan said: “It is a curse to be a daughter in Modi’s India, it is a bigger curse to be a Dalit’s daughter. What is shocking is that the victim and her family tried to be maligned in most cases. Pressure is mounted on the family to hush up the case. The police tried to pass the Delhi incident as death by negligence. When the government should stand with the victim’s family, they become active in deleting tweets. We are Rahul’s army, we will fight for justice. We are not Modi’s army who will go shopping and remain silent on crimes against women.”
“It is difficult to guess what is illegal in this tweet, apart from the photograph, which has now been pulled out. The tears of mother and father are saying just one thing — their daughter, the nation’s daughter, deserves justice. And in the quest for justice, I am with them. Stop distractions, give justice,” Dhawan said.
The party explained the problem in another tweet: “Their problem with Rahul Gandhi is simple: his humanity, empathy & compassion stands in stark contrast to their cruelty, ignorance & apathy.”
