Rekha Gupta’s election campaign took the BJP’s slogan ‘beti Bachao, beti padhao’ a step further and gave the slogan of ‘Beti Badhao’, yet another empty rhetoric on women’s empowerment.
Every day, we come across sexual violence against women and minors across the country. New Delhi is reminded weekly of the horrors of the 2012 Nirbhaya Gang Rape. The question that looms is: are these the new normal of our times? Where rapists keep getting state sanctuary, whereas women and minors get this new lifeworld of perpetual terror. The horrific rape of a 16-year-old girl inside a moving bus while travelling from Greater Noida to Delhi has once again exposed how unsafe public spaces remain for women and children. The girl was assaulted inside the bus before being abandoned near Kashmere Gate. The driver and conductor have been arrested. But arrests after a crime cannot substitute for preventing violence in the first place. A government that repeatedly claims to guarantee “law and order” must answer why women and children remain unsafe while travelling through the capital. This is not simply a question of policing after a crime. It is a question of women’s right to move freely, study, work and live without fear. The data exposes the crisis Delhi Police registered 1,901 rape cases in 2025, including 370 cases in the first three months of the year. These are not merely numbers.
BJP returned to power in Delhi in February 2025 after campaigning heavily on “law and order”. The government must answer a straightforward question: what has changed for women and children since it came to power? Can A party whose politics is rooted in patriarchy guarantee women’s freedom? The BJP and the wider Hindutva political ecosystem have a harrowing record when men from their organisations are accused of sexual violence. In the Kathua rape and murder case, local BJP leaders participated in a rally endorsing the accused in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl. In Unnao, BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was convicted of raping a minor and sentenced to life imprisonment. Sengar was also convicted for culpable homicide of the survivor’s father’s custodial death. Moreover, the survivor and her family faced immense political and institutional pressure while seeking justice. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, convicted of raping two women, has repeatedly received temporary releases, raising questions about the political influence enjoyed by powerful figures. In the case of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, women wrestlers who accused him of sexual harassment were forced into a prolonged public struggle to have their allegations heard. BJP leaders and supporters repeatedly attacked and questioned the protesters.
These are not isolated incidents. They reveal a political culture in which women survivors are harassed, and perpetrators are protected under BJP’s rule! This is the time when we face the monstrous truth of our society, where in the name of pilgrimage, our young boys are exposed to hypermasculinity and overtly violent sexual practices. On the other hand, young girls are being kidnapped from the footpath and raped without any scope for justice. We strongly condemn the rape of the 16-year-old girl and stand firmly with the survivor and her family. The Delhi government must ensure strict regulation of public transport, accountability of transport operators, proper verification and training of drivers and conductors, and swift, independent and survivor-centred investigation of sexual violence. AISA
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