Congress leaders slam Yogi Adityanath govt over caste violence, crimes against women

New Delhi, Aug 17: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government on Monday, alleging that incidents of caste violence and crimes against women are rampant in the state.

Slamming the state government over the killing of a Dalit village head in Azamgarh's Basgaon, Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi alleged that in Uttar Pradesh, the "jungle raj" of caste violence and rape is "peaking".

"Now another terrible incident -- Sarpanch Satyamev, being a Dalit, said 'no' due to which he was killed. Condolences to the family of Satyamev Ji," he said in a tweet.

The Uttar Pradesh police has invoked the stringent National Security Act against four persons in connection with the village head's killing, which had triggered a mob violence. Satyamev, a Dalit and the head of Basgaon village in the Tarwan area of Azamgarh district, was shot dead last week.

In a Facebook post in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi also hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the issue of security of women. "Bulandshahr, Hapur, Lakhimpur Kheri and now Gorakhpur. Such repeated incidents have proven that the Uttar Pradesh government has completely failed in providing security to women," the Congress general secretary said, referring to reports of crimes against women in these areas.

"The police and administration are neither able to provide security nor take appropriate action," Priyanka Gandhi alleged. "The Uttar Pradesh government should review the law-and-order system and take every step to ensure the safety of women," she said.