Congress leader Roshan Baig appeals Muslims to 'join hands' with BJP if need arises
Bengaluru: Amid poor numbers given by exit polls to the Congress in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Roshan Baig Monday dropped hints of quitting the party, and humbly appealed to Muslims to compromise with the situation, if NDA returns to power.
"Well if NDA is coming back to power, I humbly appeal to Muslim brothers to learn to compromise with the situation," he told a section of media here.
Asked if that means Muslims should join hands with BJP, Baig said if need arises, they must as the Congress had given just one ticket to a Muslim leader in Karnataka.
"If needs be, (Muslims) must join hands. We must not remain loyal to one party. What happened to Muslims in Karnataka? The Congress gave just one seat," he blurted.
Asked if he will take a decision to quit Congress in coming days, Baig said if needs be, he would do it.
"If needs be, I will do it because we (Muslims) cannot remain in a party with disgrace. We live our lives with grace and dignity. Where we will not get respect, we will not want to remain there. If someone makes us sit with love and affection, we will sit with them," he said.
Asked whom would he blame for the present condition of the Muslims in Karnataka, Baig pointed fingers at KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao for conducting "flop poll campaign" and also attacked CLP leaders including Siddaramaiah for the same.
"I hold Dinesh Gundu Rao for conducting a flop poll campaign. Moreover, CLP leaders who were flying high in the sky should come to terms with ground realities," he added.
Baig said he was not surprised by exit poll numbers as from the very beginning he knew Congress would not get good numbers because of the "flop poll campaigning" of the party.
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Primary accused in 96.6 pc POCSO cases were close acquaintances: NCRB
New Delhi (PTI): In 96.6 per cent of 44,126 cases of sexual abuse of minors, close acquaintances have emerged as the primary offenders, according to the latest data released by the NCRB.
In its report 'Crime in India 2024' released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 44,126 total cases have been registered under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act under Sections 4 and 6 which pertain to penetrative sexual assault on minors during the year across the country.
The figures present a grim picture as close acquaintances emerged as primary accused in 42,634 (around 96.6 per cent) of the 44,126 total cases falling in that category, according to the latest NCRB data.
The data shows that family members were involved in 3,658 cases, while family friends, neighbours, employers or other known persons were named in 16,668 cases.
The largest share came from friends, online friends or live-in partners acting on the pretext of marriage, with 22,308 cases.
Cases where the offender was unknown or not identified stood at mere 1,492, or 3.4 per cent of the total.
Among states, Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of POCSO cases at 5,320, followed by Maharashtra at 4,829 and Madhya Pradesh at 3,721. Uttar Pradesh was next with 3,671 cases.
In Union territories, Delhi accounted for the highest number of cases at 1,038, followed by Jammu and Kashmir at 228 and Puducherry at 82. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported 77 cases.
The data also shows that Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Tripura and several Union territories, including Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Ladakh and Puducherry, reported 100 per cent of cases involving known offenders.
