New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS): The Congress on Thursday described Haryana as a "crime hub" and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
"Haryana has become a crime hub under Khattar," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told the media here.
He said the truth was that organised and unorganised crime ruled the state as the "Khattar government is sleeping".
"We reiterate that if Khattar has failed to stop sexual predators as also crime against the daughters of Haryana, then he has no right to continue even for a day."
The Congress leader's remarks come in the wake of six rapes, including gangrapes of two minor Dalit girls, that have put the Haryana government in the dock.
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, Surjewala said: "The truth is that the state which vows to save daughters witnesses most number of rapes and gang rapes."
Surjewala was referring to the 'educate daughter, save daughter' campaign launched by the Modi government from Haryana.
The Congress leader said Khattar, also the Home Minister, cannot "shuck his responsibility". "And we hold him and his government accountable for the spate of rape cases."
Surjewala alleged that crime against women had increased in the state since Khattar assumed charge.
"In 2016, Haryana reported 1,090 murders, 1,189 rapes, 191 gang rapes and 4,019 kidnapping and abduction incidents. This is three murders, three rapes and 11 kidnappings and abductions on an average every day.
"In fact Haryana has got the highest average of gang-rape cases in the country now."
On the recent cases of gangrapes, Surjewala said: "We saw how a woman was gangraped, her body mutilated and murdered in Rohtak. The latest incident of a gangrape is of a Dalit girl and mutilation of her body is a stack reminder of the failure of the BJP government."
Hitting out at the Prime Minister and the Central government, he said: "Modi and his government cannot shirk responsibility as the Haryana-Delhi border is porous and criminals travel across the two states freely."
"If Khattar and the BJP government cannot control the spate of gangrapes and rapes, he should quit office immediately," he added.