New Delhi, April 23: Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Kathua and Unnao rape incidents, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he will come up with a new slogan asking people to save their daughters from his BJP.
"Now, Modiji will give a new slogan. Earlier it was 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'.
"Now there is a new slogan. Just 'Beti Bachao' (Save the daughters). Forget Beti Padhao (teach the daughters)," said Gandhi at the launch of 'Save the Constitution' campaign here.
"And save daughters from whom...from whom? Save them from the BJP, save them from the MLAs of BJP," he added.
"The government will not save the daughters of the nation. Their parents will save the daughters. This is the truth of the country."
In January, an eight-year-old girl went missing while grazing horses in Rassana forest in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. A week later, her raped and battered body was recovered. Investigations revealed she was held captive in a temple and was sedated before being repeatedly raped and murdered.
In Unnao, a 17-year-old was raped last year allegedly by BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar, who has been named in a CBI FIR. The incident came to light after the victim tried to set herself ablaze outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence.
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Malegaon (Maharashtra), Nov 23: In a closely contested election, Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has retained the Malegaon Central assembly seat, winning by a razor-thin margin of 162 votes.
This victory in the north Maharashtra constituency marks a significant turnaround for Khalique, who previously enjoyed a commanding lead in the 2019 elections, winning by over one lakh votes.
Khalique, an Islamic scholar, received a total of 1,09,653 votes this time, narrowly defeating his nearest rival, Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra party, who got 1,09,491 votes.
There were a total of 13 candidates contesting in this Muslim dominated constituency. Barring Khalique and Rasheed, two other candidates -- Shaan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed of Samajwadi Party and Ejaz Baig Aziz Baig managed below 10,000 votes. Other remaining candidates were below 1,000 votes.
This election marks Khalique's third term as an MLA. He initially represented the Malegaon Central seat in 2009 as a member of the Jan Surajya Shakti party.
However, Khalique faced a setback in the 2014 elections when he contested under the banner of the Nationalist Congress Party and lost.
His return to the assembly in 2019 under the AIMIM banner solidified his political presence, and despite the significantly reduced margin this year, he has once again emerged victorious.
The results highlight the competitive nature of the Malegaon Central constituency and underscore Khalique's resilience in maintaining his position amidst changing political dynamics.