Describing the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s R G Kar Hospital as a “painful” incident, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday here called for a deterrent ecosystem to punish the perpetrators for such crimes. Referring to President Droupadi Murmu’s statement on the incident, he reiterated her expression, “Enough is enough.”

Making these assertions while addressing students at Delhi University’s Bharti College during an event, Vice President Dhankhar said, “It is unfortunate to see the kind of fear girls and women have in their minds because of such incidents. President Murmu is a tribal woman herself. She has seen the ground reality. She rightly expressed in a media note that enough is enough for crime against women,” Dhankhar said.

Referring to the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident, he added that the repeated incidents call for a strong ecosystem to punish the culprits and instil fear in their minds.

He slammed those justifying the rape incident by calling it a regular occurrence, saying he is appalled by their thought process.

Stressing on the need of financial independence for girls and women, the Vice President emphasised, “I call upon each of you to be financially independent. This is quintessentially important for you to unleash your energy and potential.”

 “Girls are the most important stakeholders in the development of the Nation. They constitute the backbone and spinal strength of the rural economy, agro-economy, and informal economy”, he further added. Advocating for decimation of gender-based inequities, Vice President Dhankhar highlighted the existing gender disparity in terms of pay and opportunities for women in the society. “But can we say that there is no gender disparity today? Same qualification but different pay, better qualification but not equal opportunities. That mindset has to change. The ecosystem has to be equitable, inequities have to be decimated”, he added.

The Vice President also criticized “anti-national” narratives against India and called it the biggest challenge in the development of the country.  He urged students to keep the national interest above political and ideological differences.