CPI(M) Slams BJP Over Rising Atrocities Against Women and Children, Calls for Urgent Legal Action and Support Systems

Madurai: The 24th Party Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has adopted a scathing resolution expressing deep concern over the alarming rise in violence against women and children across the country, particularly under the decade-long rule of the BJP. Drawing on official data, the CPI(M) pointed to a sharp increase in both the frequency and brutality of such crimes.
Crimes against women rose from 3.37 lakh in 2014 to 4.45 lakh in 2022, marking a staggering 30% increase. Particularly horrifying, the Party noted, is the spike in violence against Dalit women and children. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows that reported rapes of Dalit women surged by 45% between 2015 and 2020, and nearly doubled between 2020 (7,397 incidents) and 2021 (15,855 incidents).
The rape of Dalit minor girls also rose by 21.8% in 2021 compared to the previous year. Yet, despite the surge in crimes, only 24% of these cases saw convictions, highlighting what the CPI(M) calls a severe breakdown of justice delivery.
BJP-ruled states were identified as top offenders, with Uttar Pradesh recording the highest number of rape cases in 2021 (1,554), followed by Rajasthan (1,274), Madhya Pradesh (1,222), Maharashtra (862), and Haryana (543).
The resolution further emphasized crimes such as trafficking and sex-selective abortions, which continue despite longstanding laws like the PCPNDT Act. India’s 2024 sex ratio of 943 females per 1000 males was cited as evidence of a continuing denial of the basic right to life to lakhs of girls. Meanwhile, trafficking of women and children remains rampant, with government data showing 10,659 cases between 2018 and 2022, and a conviction rate of merely one in ten suspects.
A UN report flagged that one in every six trafficked women in the world is Indian, while flawed case registration methods obscure the true extent of the crisis. The CPI(M) also highlighted the abysmal condition of workplace safety for women, citing recent incidents at R G Kar Medical College Hospital and the Ankita case in Rishikesh, along with a wider pattern of abuse in the entertainment industry, as exposed by the Hema Committee Report.
The resolution accused the Sangh Parivar and the BJP of advancing a Manuvadi, patriarchal ideology that fuels and protects perpetrators of gender violence. “It is not a coincidence that perpetrators of heinous crimes — rapists and murderers — are often shielded or supported,” the Party asserted, listing cases such as Bilkis Bano, Hathras, BHU, Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, Ram Rahim, and most recently, Prajwal Revanna.
The resolution also criticized the Modi government’s deliberate undermining of existing legal and administrative systems designed to protect and rehabilitate survivors, particularly in cases of domestic violence and marital rape, which the Party accused the ruling ideology of normalizing under the guise of preserving “holy matrimony.”
In response to these growing threats, the CPI(M)’s 24th Party Congress issued two key demands:

1) Effective prosecution of all cases of violence against women and punishment of all those guilty of negligence or dereliction of duty.

2) Legal aid and comprehensive support — including safety, rehabilitation, and justice — for survivors and their families. The Party also called upon citizens to extend solidarity and assistance.