Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the “country will not tolerate those committing rape“. He also mentioned that the law passed by Parliament in this regard will play an effective role in curbing crimes against women and girls.
Addressing the 47th edition of Mann ki Baat, PM Modi said, “Those guilty of rape will get a minimum sentence of 10 years and those found guilty of raping girls below the age of 12 years will be awarded the death sentence.”
He said, recently, courts have awarded stringent punishment to rape convicts after a speedy trial lasting only a few days. Recently, a local court in Madhya Pradesh had awarded death sentence to the two accused of raping an eight-year-old girl in Mandsaur district. On June 26, the eight-year-old girl was abducted from her school in Hafiz Colony and was allegedly gang-raped at her house in Mandsaur. The accused had also tried to kill her by slitting her throat.
Referring to the issue of talaq-e-biddat or instant triple talaq, PM Modi said that though the bill to ban the practice of instant triple talaq could not be passed in Rajya Sabha in the Monsoon Session, “I assure the Muslim women that the whole country stands by them to provide them social justice.”
In his monthly radio address, he said when we move ahead in the national interest, a change in the lives of the poor, the backward, the exploited and the deprived ones can also be brought about.
“No civil society can tolerate any kind of injustice towards women of the country. The nation will not tolerate those committing rapes. With this in mind, Parliament has made a provision of strictest punishment by passing the Criminal Act Amendment Bill.
“The triple talaq bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha, although it could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha, I assure the Muslim women that the whole country stands by them to provide them social justice.
Last year, a bill criminalising triple talaq was passed in Lok Sabha amid protest from opposition parties. The house members had rejected several amendments moved by opposition members before passing the bill.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 criminalises Triple Talaq or instant divorce and has provision for a maximum three-year jail term and fine for practicing Triple Talaq. It also gives Muslim women the right to seek maintenance and right to child’s custody.
The bill says that instant triple talaq in any form — spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp — would be illegal and void.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has said that various Muslim bodies in the country would move the Supreme Court if the bill is also passed by the Rajya Sabha.
(With PTI inputs)
