Rahul Gandhi meets Unnao gang-rape survivor, hears her ordeal and expresses deep anguish.
Calls India a “dead society” where daughters are unsafe and justice delayed or denied.
Visit comes amid Congress attack on BJP over women's safety in multiple high-profile cases.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met the Unnao gang-rape survivor — the woman who was allegedly raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in 2017 — at her residence in Uttar Pradesh, offering solidarity and sharply criticizing the state of affairs in the country. During the interaction, Gandhi described India as rapidly turning into a “dead society” where daughters are not safe and justice remains elusive for victims of sexual violence.
The meeting lasted over an hour, during which the survivor narrated her ordeal, the long struggle for justice, and the continued threats her family faces. Rahul Gandhi listened intently, later telling reporters outside: “When I hear her story, I feel ashamed as an Indian. We are turning into a dead society where power protects the powerful and victims are left to fight alone. This is not the India we want. Beti Bachao is not a slogan — it must be a reality.”
The 2017 Unnao case became a national flashpoint after the then 17-year-old accused Kuldeep Sengar, a sitting BJP MLA, of rape. The case saw multiple twists: the survivor's father died in police custody in 2018, her lawyer was killed in a road accident, and two key witnesses were burnt alive in a 2019 incident. Sengar was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to life imprisonment, but the survivor has repeatedly alleged that powerful people continue to harass her family.
Rahul Gandhi's visit comes amid fresh outrage over the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case in Uttarakhand, where the Congress has accused the BJP government of shielding the accused. The party has repeatedly targeted the ruling dispensation on women's safety, contrasting its ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign with high-profile cases of alleged cover-ups and insensitivity. A senior BJP leader in Uttarakhand triggered massive backlash on December 24, 2025, after making a crude joke about the 2022 rape and murder of 19-year-old hotel receptionist Ankita Bhandari. Speaking at a public event in Dehradun, he reportedly quipped, “Some girls go to work and come back with stories,” in apparent reference to her case, prompting laughter from parts of the crowd.
BJP leaders dismissed Gandhi's remarks as “selective politics” and “attempt to politicise a sensitive issue.” Union Minister Nitin Nabin responded on X: “Rahul Gandhi only remembers victims when it suits his politics. Where was he when thousands of daughters across the country needed help? This is crocodile tears.”
