New Delhi, December 2: Led by Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, Rajya Sabha members cutting across party lines on Monday expressed concern at the rising incidents of rape and murder of women in the country.
In light of the recent Hyderbad incident, the House held a discussion on incidents of rape. Naidu and other members demanded speedy justice and pitched for innovative societal measures. These included increasing awareness by society collectively as “laws alone were not enough”.
“What is required is not a bill, but a political will,” Naidu said, adding that time had come to consider whether the present laws should be revisited. Law alone is not sufficient, nor is punishment to the culprits, he said.
“It is a societal disease,” Naidu said, advocating strong action against the sale of alcohol near highways and the dissemination of pornographic material.
He also batted for fast-track courts for expeditious decisions in such cases.
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad urged that such incidents should neither be politicised, nor seen through the prism of religion.
Making a call for speedy justice and exemplary punishment to the accused in the Hyderabad rape case, Azad said such heinous acts against women were occurring across the country, so one state government or political party should not be singled out for blame.
Jaya Bachchan of the Samajwadi Party advocated lynching in public of the four accused.
CPI’s Binoy Viswam made a case for capital punishment to the accused.
Meanwhile, members in the Lok Sabha also raised the issue.
As soon as the House met for the day, Speaker Om Birla said he would allow members to raise the “serious issue” in Zero Hour.
Uttam Kumar Reddy (Cong) raised the issue of the rape and murder of the 26-year-old veterinarian and slammed the Telangana Home Minister for his purported “insensitive” remarks.
He also slammed the state police for initially delaying to lodge a case.
TR Baalu (DMK) raised the issue of sexual assault of a schoolgirl in Coimbatore.
Saugat Roy (TMC) said rape convicts should be hanged.
Pinaki Misra (BJD) questioned the delay in executing the death sentence awarded to convicts in the ‘Nirbhaya’ gang-rape case.
He said laws and establishment on fast track courts would not make a difference till the time the death sentences were executed.
On November 29, four men, aged between 20 and 24, were arrested on charges of raping and killing the young woman veterinarian in Hyderabad. With PTI
