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New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led government, saying India was not only turning into a “dead economy” but also a “dead society”, following the alleged ill-treatment of the Unnao rape survivor who has been protesting in Delhi.
Reacting to the survivor’s protest against bail granted to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Gandhi said she deserved dignity, protection and justice — not fear and harassment.
“Is such treatment of a gang rape survivor appropriate? Is it her ‘fault’ that she dares to raise her voice for justice?” Gandhi asked in a Hindi post on X. Calling the bail order “deeply disappointing and shameful”, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said it was unacceptable that while the accused had secured relief from the court, the survivor continued to live under constant threat and intimidation.
“Bail for rapists and treating survivors like criminals — what kind of justice is this? We are not just becoming a dead economy; with such inhuman incidents, we are also turning into a dead society,” he said.
Gandhi further asserted that dissent was a fundamental right in a democracy and suppressing it amounted to a crime. “The survivor deserves respect, safety and justice — not helplessness, fear and injustice,” he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Unnao rape survivor described the Delhi High Court’s decision to suspend Sengar’s sentence in the rape case as “kaa” (death) for her family. She announced that she would approach the Supreme Court to challenge the order.
The survivor and her mother staged a protest near Mandi House in the national capital against the bail decision. While granting bail, the high court imposed strict conditions, directing that Sengar must not come within a five-kilometre radius of the survivor’s residence or attempt to threaten her or her family. Any violation, the court said, would automatically result in cancellation of bail.
However, Sengar will continue to remain in prison as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in connection with the custodial death of the survivor’s father, for which he has not been granted bail. The survivor was a minor when she was kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017, a case that had triggered nationwide outrage and remains one of the most high-profile crimes against women in recent years.
