With the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl in Delhi sparking outrage, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday sent out a tough message to authorities that “action and not words” are necessary to stop recurrence of such incidents.

“Congress President Sonia Gandhi has condemned the heinous incident of rape of the five-year-old girl. She has appealed to the government and the administration that action and not words are required to ensure that such incidents never happen again in future,” party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.

Gandhi also emphasised the need for “awareness” among citizens to stop such incidents, saying these kinds of crimes can be stopped only when each and every citizen of the country is alert and aware.

“The entire society needs to be alert and aware to prevent such incidents,” she said.