New Delhi, 5 April. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday raised the problems related to the ‘One Stop Centre’ (OSC) set up by the central government to help women affected by violence, claiming that “Modi government is not listening to anyone.” Gandhi said that security is not just a scheme but the basic responsibility of the government.
In a post on her WhatsApp channel, she said, “Women are knocking on the doors for help and the government has kept the doors closed. I asked in Parliament: When a woman fleeing violence reaches the One Stop Centre, why does she not get help, why is it locked? Why is there a shortage of staff? Why are the complaints from across the country unheard?”
He said, “What was the government’s reply? Everything is ‘satisfactory’. If everything is ‘satisfactory’, then why are there reports of so many problems regarding OSC?” Rahul asked, “If security is the priority, then why is help still not reaching three out of every five women? And why is only 60 paise out of every Rs 100 spent by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on OSC?”
He said, “Security is not a scheme, but the basic responsibility of the government. Calling everything ‘satisfactory’ does not provide security; it shows that the Modi government is not listening to anyone.” In his question asked in the Lok Sabha on March 27, Rahul wanted to know whether many OSCs were closed, inactive or not operating for the stipulated 24 hours.
He also sought details of the number of women seeking help and shelter at OSC in the last five years, state-wise and year-wise, and the number of cases registered related to crimes against women. They had also sought details of the number of OSCs operating and new OSCs opened in the last five years, state-wise and year-wise, and the funds released and utilized during this period, along with the reasons for under-utilization of funds.
Rahul had also sought state-wise details of sanctioned and filled posts in OSC – such as administrators, case workers, counsellors, medical officers and policemen. Apart from this, he also asked whether the Ministry has investigated the complaints related to mismanagement or violation of operational guidelines, and if so, what action was taken thereon.
Savitri Thakur, Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, in a written reply said that the OSC is part of the ‘Sambal’ component under ‘Mission Shakti’, which provides integrated and immediate support to women in distress and affected by violence, at a single location.
He said, “It provides services like medical aid, legal aid and counselling, temporary shelter, police assistance and psycho-social counseling to needy women. More than 13.37 lakh women have been provided assistance in the country from April 1, 2015 to December 31, 2025.”
The minister said that the overall implementation of the OSC scheme is the responsibility of the state governments and union territory administrations. Thakur said, “The schemes of the ministry, including Mission Shakti and its OSC component, were evaluated by a third party through NITI Aayog in 2020 and 2025. The relevance, effectiveness and sustainability of the scheme have been found satisfactory in these studies.”
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