Gandhis slam UP govt over issue safety of women in Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi, Oct 18: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took a dig at the Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday over media reports which claimed that a BJP MLA and his son allegedly took away a man accused of harassing a woman from police custody, referring to it as the 'save criminals' mission of the state dispensation.

Along with their tweets attacking the government, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi tagged media reports which claimed that the BJP MLA, his son and supporters allegedly took away a man accused of harassing a woman from police custody on Saturday. "How it started: 'Beti bachao' (save daughters). How it’s going: 'Apradhi bachao' (save criminals)'," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Tagging a media report on the incident, Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, "Will the UP CM tell that this is happening under which 'mission'? 'Beti bachao' (Save daughters) or 'Apradhi bachao' (save criminals)'?"

The Congress has been attacking the UP government over the issue of alleged rise in crimes against women, particularly after the Hathras incident in which a 19-year-old Dalit woman from the district was allegedly raped and attacked by four men.

She later succumbed to injuries at a Delhi hospital. The Yogi Adityanath government is fighting severe criticism for its handling of the Hathras case, particularly after the local police cremated the woman at night allegedly without the family's approval.

However, officials said the cremation was done "as per the wishes of the family". The probe in the case has been taken over by the CBI.