Congress slams Modi Government over women’s safety citing NCRB data

The Congress on Thursday (May 8, 2026) sharpened its attack on the Narendra Modi Government over women’s safety and rising crime against vulnerable sections, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge alleging that 12 years of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule had exposed the “hollowness” of the Centre’s claims on law and order, and women’s safety.

In a post on X, Mr. Kharge said that the government’s narrative on women’s safety was contradicted by official data. Citing the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2024 report, the Congress chief said crimes against women had risen by 42.6% since 2013. Referring to the same data set, he said crimes against children had gone up by 204.6%, atrocities against Dalits by 41.3%, and crimes against Adivasis by 46.7%.

He said the NCRB data pointed out that cybercrime had surged by 1,689% and 10,546 farmers, 52,931 daily wage labourers and 14,488 students died in 2024.

“Twelve years of the Modi Government have exposed the hollowness of its claims on law and order and women’s safety,” Mr. Kharge said, adding that the “truth” was now before the country.

The remarks came as the NCRB’s 2024 report recorded an increase in cases involving juveniles in conflict with the law and crimes against senior citizens. A total of 34,878 cases were registered against juveniles in 2024, an increase of 11.2% over the previous year, while crimes against senior citizens rose by 16.9% to 32,602 cases.

Separately, All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba accused the BJP of using ‘Beti Bachao’ and ‘Nari Vandan’ merely as political slogans while failing to ensure justice for women.

Addressing a press conference, Ms. Lamba cited NCRB figures and said that 42,85,888 cases of crimes against women were registered between 2014 and 2024 during the Modi Government’s tenure.

“These are not just statistics, but more than 42 lakh women and girls struggling for justice,” she said, alleging that annual crimes against women rose from 3.4 lakh in 2014 to nearly 4.42 lakh in 2024.

Ms. Lamba said that the BJP Governments were shielding the accused instead of punishing them, and referred to cases in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Bihar to accuse the ruling party of protecting influential leaders.

She demanded that NCRB data on crimes against women be discussed during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, and sought details on the number of victims who had received justice and convictions secured under the POCSO Act.