Mrs. Bobbeeta Sharma, AICC Media-in-charge, said the state was competing with other states in the crime against women.
Accusing the Naveen Patnaik Government of failure to ensure the safety of women and children, the Opposition Congress in Odisha reeled out statistics to support their argument that there was a rise in women and child-related crimes and atrocities.
Mrs. Bobbeeta Sharma, AICC Media-in-charge, Odisha, while briefing reporters here on Friday, alleged that Odisha was competing with other states in the crime against women.
“We want to first see how women in Odisha are taken care of by the BJD government, along with the BJP government at the Center, as we know they are together and will always be together,” Mrs. Sharma said.
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Elaborating her point of view, she said, “It is important to know how a government responds to the conditions or issues related to women because if women of a state lag behind in any sphere, be it safety, health or education, then that state cannot claim to have achieved any development at all.”
On the alleged prevalent unsafe environs in the state for women and children, she pointed out that the state reports nine rape cases every day as per the report tabled in the Assembly.
Crimes against women and children have increased manifold. Odisha has the highest number of cases of human trafficking in the country and half of them are those of women. The number of minor girls trafficked in Odisha is the second highest in the country. The number of missing children in Odisha is the third highest in the country. The number of molestation cases in the state is the fourth highest in the country.
Going by the NCRB data for 2022, Odisha reported the highest number of cybercrimes against women in the country at 542.
The state accounted for as many as 9,495 rape cases between 2021 and 23 at a monthly average of 263. The rate of conviction of the accused in rape cases in the state is on the lower side.
“What is your development goal? Is it to make Odisha first among all the states in crime against women and children,” Sharma asked.
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