‘Unpardonable sin’, PM Modi condemns crimes against women amid Kolkata doctor rape-murder and Badlapur abuse cases

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 25 termed crimes against women an unpardonable sin, adding the guilty should not be spared.  

The PM’s statement comes in the backdrop protests against the brutal rape and murder of 31-year-old trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital and the sexual abuse of two four-year-old school girls in Badlapur.  

Speaking at the ‘Lakhpati Didi Sammelan' in north Maharashtra’s Jalgaon, Modi said the safety of women should be a priority. “The safety of mothers, sisters and daughters is the country’s priority. I have raised this issue repeatedly from the Red Fort. Be it any state of the country, I understand the pain and anger of my sisters and daughters,” he said.  

Modi said that he will tell every political party and state government that crime against women is an unpardonable sin. Whoever is guilty should not be spared, he added. Those helping the perpetrators of crimes against women should not be spared. Be it a hospital, school, government or police system, at whatever level negligence occurs, everyone should be held accountable, the PM said while addressing teh gathering.

“The message should go from top to bottom. This sin is unpardonable. Governments will come and go, but protecting life and women’s dignity is a big responsibility of all of us, both as a society and as a government,” Modi said.  

The PM also highlighted his government’s women-centric approach in the last 10 years compared to the previous regimes since Independence. “Till 2014, less than Rs 25,000 crore loans were given to women self-help groups but in the last 10 years, Rs 9 lakh crore help was given,” Modi said. 

The PM, who interacted with Lakhpati Didis at Jalgaon, released the Rs 2,500 crore revolving fund benefiting 48 lakh members of 4.3 lakh self-help groups. 

The Lakhpati Didi scheme is not only about boosting the income of women, but also about empowering future generations, he said. “When I visited you during the Lok Sabha elections, I promised we would make 3 crore sisters Lakhpati Didi. This means women who work in self-help groups, and their annual income is more than Rs 1 lakh,” the PM said. 

In the last 10 years, one crore Lakhpati Didis were made, and in just two months 11 lakh more Lakhpati Didi were added to one crore, he said.  

Ahead of the assembly elections in the state, the PM also said that Maharashtra needs the BJP-led Mahayuti government to continue for years to come to ensure the state’s stability and prosperity.  

“Maharashtra is the shining star of a developed India. The future of the state lies in more investment and job growth,” he said.  

The PM also expressed his anguish over the Nepal bus accident in which 14 persons from Jalgaon district were killed.