NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday flagged problems related to the Centre’s One Stop Centres (OSCs) that are intended to support women affected by violence and claimed that the “Modi government is not listening to anyone”.Gandhi asserted that safety is not merely a scheme; it is a fundamental responsibility of the government.”Women are knocking on doors for help, yet the government has kept those doors shut. I asked in Parliament: When a woman flees violence and reaches a One Stop Centre (OSC) – why does she not receive help? Why does she find the doors locked instead? Why is there a shortage of staff? Why are complaints from across the country going unheard?” Gandhi said in a post on his WhatsApp channel.”What was the government’s response? That everything is ‘satisfactory’. If everything is indeed ‘satisfactory’, then why are reports of so many problems regarding OSCs continuing to surface?” he said.If safety is a priority, why is help still failing to reach three out of every five women, Gandhi asked.”And why is only 60 paise out of every Rs 100 allocated to the Ministry of Women and Child Development being spent on OSCs?” the former Congress chief said. “Safety is not merely a scheme; it is a fundamental responsibility of the government. Dismissing everything as ‘satisfactory’ does not ensure safety; it merely demonstrates that the Modi government is not listening to anyone,” Gandhi said.In his question in Lok Sabha on March 27, Gandhi had asked whether numerous OSCs remain locked, non-functional/fail to operate round-the-clock as mandated, if so, the details thereof; and the number of women who have sought assistance and shelter at OSCs and the number of cases of crimes against women registered during the last five years, state-wise and year-wise.He also asked about the number of operational OSCs and new OSCs opened during the last five years, state-wise and year-wise; and the details of the funds released/utilised for OSCs during the said period, state-wise and year-wise indicating the reasons for underutilisation.He further asked about the details of the sanctioned versus filled posts in OSCs, including administrators, case workers, counsellors, medical officers and police, state-wise; and whether the Ministry has examined complaints of mismanagement/violation of operational guidelines, if so, the details thereof along with the action taken thereon.In her written reply to the question, Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur said OSC is a component of the Sambal vertical under the umbrella Mission Shakti and it provides integrated and immediate support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence and those in distress, both in private and public spaces “It provides services like medical aid, legal aid and advice, temporary shelter, police assistance and psycho-social counselling to needy women. Since inception, i.e. 1st April, 2015 up to 31st December, 2025, over 13.37 lakh women have been assisted in the country,” she said and also shared the state and UT-wise details of OSCs.The minister said the overall implementation of the OSC scheme lies with the state governments and UT administrations.”Two third party evaluations of the schemes of the Ministry, including the Mission Shakti Umbrella Scheme and its components relating to One Stop Centres (OSCs) have been conducted in 2020 and again in 2025 through NITI Aayog. The studies have found the relevance, effectiveness and sustainability of the scheme as satisfactory,” Thakur said.
