LONDON - Indian authorities, starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, should pay more attention to women in the country, Christine Lagarde, the IMF 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 condition of women in the country. At the World Economic Forum meet in January, Ms Lagarde said she had told PM Modi that he did not mention the women of India enough in his speech to the summit and "it's not just a question of talking about them".
"I was hoping he would have said a bit more. Wish he had talked a bit about girls and Indian women," she had then told NDTV. That nudge was grounded in economics as well.
Ms Lagarde's fresh reminder to the Indian authorities to take care of its women comes against the backdrop of reports about an eight-year-old in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua was kidnapped, drugged and held for several days while 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 the Indian authorities, starting with Prime Minister Modi pay more attention because it is needed for the women of India," she told reporters when asked if India's economic reforms were inclusive enough.
The horrific details of the suffering that the young girl had endured before her death in January emerged this month when the police filed charges against the eight accused, evoking national outrage.