BJP hits out at Congress over cases of sexual harassment

The BJP today cited alleged cases of sexual harassment against Congress functionaries to hit out at its president Rahul Gandhi, who had attacked the government by citing a survey that claimed India was the most unsafe country for women.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi also slammed reports portraying India in a bad light and claimed that "far worse" cases are happening abroad and that New York and not New Delhi is world's "rape capital".

Attacking the Congress at a press conference, she referred to a complaint of an employee working with its social media cell and also an allegation of sexual harassment against a functionary of NSUI, the Congress' student wing, to target it.

Even Gandhi's sister Priyanka was not safe, Lekhi claimed, saying she was harassed by Congress workers in April during a march to India Gate to protest against the Kathua rape and murder case.

The BJP spokesperson also raked up the Delhi Police's charge against Congress leader Shashi Tharoor of abetment to suicide of his wife.

Delhi Police is looking into the complaint of the Congress' social media cell worker and it should register an FIR and tell people that "under whose pressure" it had not filed a case yet, Lekhi said.

FIRs must be registered in all these cases and statements of victims recorded before a magistrate, she said.

Gandhi had targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of women's safety, and said it was "a shame" that a survey found India was the world's most dangerous country for women due to the high risk of sexual violence.

Lekhi also termed as "fake" the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts on women's issues that found India the world's most dangerous country for women.

"It is not about criticism, it is about portraying India in a bad light. They are not portraying that India came together to protect its daughters and change its laws," she said, in a reference to the aftermath of the Delhi gang rape, which occurred in December 2012 and is often referred as Nirbhaya case.

"On the same day there was a case of similar nature in New York. Far worse cases are there but nobody gets to know because media chooses to protect that. Here the media, under freedom, is allowed to be free, which is absolutely fantastic," she said, claiming that people's attitude have become more pro-active towards women now.

Naming a well-known international news broadcast, Lekhi asked if people know the name of its producer who was found "raping" a cop?