New Delhi: Reacting strongly to the recent rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticized the government's failure to protect women. On Friday, she highlighted the alarming statistic of 86 rape cases reported daily and questioned the effectiveness of government protection for women.

Vadra expressed her outrage through a social media post on X, stating, "The cruelties against women in Kolkata, Bihar, Uttarakhand, and UP have shaken the entire country. At this time, women across the country are in grief and anger." She emphasized that while women expect decisive action and measures from the government following such incidents, the political protection extended to the accused and the granting of bail or parole to convicted criminals undermine these expectations.

In her tweet, Vadra further criticized the government's response, asserting, "Whenever such incidents occur, women of the country observe the government's actions. How serious are their words and measures? Wherever there was a need to send a strong message about women's safety, efforts were made to save the accused. Repeated leniency in cases of heinous crimes against women, political protection for the accused, and actions like granting bail or parole to convicted prisoners discourage women." She added, "What message does this send to the women of the country? When government statistics show 86 rapes occurring every day, from whom should women expect protection?"

The case has sparked nationwide protests from doctors. Medical professionals from various institutions are demanding stricter protection laws for healthcare workers. At AIIMS Delhi, doctors and medical students have called for a Central Protection Act, with Dr. Kumar Kartikay stating that protests will continue until concrete actions are taken. Meanwhile, Chandigarh PGIMER and Government Medical College in Amritsar have also joined the demonstrations, with the latter suspending non-essential and elective services as of August 16.

The incident occurred on August 9, when a post-graduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and killed in a seminar hall at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The CBI has taken over the investigation, and the ruling TMC faces accusations of a "cover-up" from the opposition BJP.

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