Washington, DC – The recent gruesome incidents of gang rape and murder of young girls in Kathua and Unnao, came alive on different platforms in the US as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief lambasted the government of India including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while many organizations including protestors in front of the Indian Embassy here demanded swift justice.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday (April 19) expressed hope that the Indian authorities including Prime Minister Modi would pay more attention as global outrage erupted over the rape cases in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua and Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao.
“What has happened (in India) is just revolting. I would hope that the Indian authorities, starting with Prime Minister Modi pay more attention because it is needed for the women of India,” Lagarde said. “When I was last in Davos after Prime Minister Modi’s speech, I did tell him that he had not mentioned the women of India enough. And it’s not just a question of talking about them,” the IMF Managing Director said.
A large number of Indians and Americans of Indian origin, including women and children, raised slogans like “Hate Murder, hate Crime: No more. No More” under the shadow of the Gandhi statue in front of the Indian Embassy. Ironically both the Mahatma in stone and the Embassy officials were non-reactive. The protestors were carrying posters demanding punishment for the alleged rapists in the latest gang rape and murder cases of young girls.
Echoing the sentiments of IMF Chief, Lagarde on silence from Modi, Syed Ashraf on behalf of Alliance for Justice and Accountability – the organizers of the peaceful protest in the US capital – said: “”Silence does not help, when nation is on fire and people are traumatized.
Urging the Modi government to “strengthen laws for rape against minors, and against women,” Ashraf added, “As the father of the minor girl has demanded, the case should be moved out from the Jammu High Court as there is not a conducive environment for a fair trial.”
Earlier many organizations condemned the horrific acts and murders of minor children and women, which has earned Delhi the title of “Rape Capital of the World.”
“The barbarity and the bestiality involved in the killing of this little girl show the depraved and criminal mindsets of those who perpetrated such heinous acts. The ghastly way this girl was raped and murdered has indeed shaken the nation to its core and terrorized the people of conscience across the world,” said Indian Overseas Congress in a statement.