LONDON – Indian authorities, starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,should pay more attention to women in the country, Christine Lagarde, theIMF Chief said at a media conference in Washington on Thursday.
This is the second time in that she has called out PM Modi on the conditionof women in the country. At the World Economic Forum meet in January, MsLagarde said she had told PM Modi that he did not mention the women ofIndia enough in his speech to the summit and “it’s not just a question oftalking about them”.
“I was hoping he would have said a bit more. Wish he had talked a bit aboutgirls and Indian women,” she had then told NDTV. That nudge was grounded ineconomics as well.
Ms Lagarde’s fresh reminder to the Indian authorities to take care of itswomen comes against the backdrop of reports about an eight-year-old inJammu and Kashmir’s Kathua was kidnapped, drugged and held for several dayswhile she was raped repeatedly and then murdered.
The International Monetary Fund managing director called it a “revolting”crime.
“What has happened (in India) is just revolting. I would hope that theIndian authorities, starting with Prime Minister Modi pay more attentionbecause it is needed for the women of India,” she told reporters when askedif India’s economic reforms were inclusive enough.
The horrific details of the suffering that the young girl had enduredbefore her death in January emerged this month when the police filedcharges against the eight accused, evoking national outrage.