Mandla (Madhya Pradesh),(IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for a social movement for protecting girls in the wake of increasing rapes reported from different parts of the country and said families have to teach their sons to become responsible.

Addressing a gathering here to mark the National Panchayati Raj Day, Modi referred to the ordinance brought by his government last week that provides for death sentence to those convicted of raping a child below 12 years of age and life term to those raping a child below 16.

The audience applauded when Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan mentioned the ordinance.

Modi said his government listens to people and called for steps to give more respect to the daughters in the families.

"The government in Delhi listens to your heart. We should learn to give respect to daughters in the family, we should increase the importance of daughters in the family and start teaching sons about responsibility. It will never be difficult to protect daughters if we start teaching sons about responsibility.

"The one who acts devilishly will face the gallows. We have to build a social movement and we can all together bring out the country from this problem," he said.

Modi's remarks came in the wake of nationwide outrage over the rape and murder of a minor in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district and other similar incidents including a case in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh where the main accused is a BJP MLA.

During the function, Modi unveiled a plaque to lay foundation stone of an LPG bottling plant of Indian Oil Corporation.