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Anti-rape bill: Cabinet divided; Govt. calls all-party meet March 18
Tuesday March 12, 2013 07:58:22 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi: Amid
differences of opinion in the cabinet over the proposed anti-rape
law, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Tuesday expressed confidence
that the government will resolve the issue by Thursday and secure
parliamentary approval for the legislation by March 22.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath has also called an
all-party meet March 18 to discuss the bill. He has already spoken
to BJP, SP and BSP leaders over the issue, said sources.
There is a sense of urgency in passing the law by March 22 as the
bill will replace an ordinance promulgated by President Pranab
Mukherjee Feb 3 and has to be passed within six weeks from that
date.
The first half of the budget session ends March 22 and the house
will reconvene April 22.
The issue has been in sharp focus after the brutal assault and
gang-rape of a woman in Delhi Dec 16, 2012. She succumbed to her
injuries Dec 29 in Singapore.
As differences of opinion prevailed among ministers at a special
cabinet meeting called to pass the bill, the government decided to
refer the legislation to a Group of Ministers (GoM) to resolve the
issue.
"The GoM meetings will be held soon. We are confident that the
issue will be resolved by Thursday. We will pass the bill by March
22," Shinde told reporters.
According to informed sources, the points of disagreement over the
bill relate to provisions making it gender neutral, lowering the
age of juvenile criminals from 18 to 16 besides provisions
prescribing punishment for stalking and voyeurism.
While Finance Minister P. Chidambaram wants the bill to be gender
neutral by replacing the word "rape" with "sexual assault", women
activists have impressed upon the government to retain the word
"rape" so that law is seen as specifically for crimes against
women.
Also, Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath is
against lowering the age of juvenile criminals from 18 to 16, an
issue which came into focus after the Delhi gang-rape, in which
one of the accused is a juvenile.
Informed sources said the government needed to be careful on
defining provisions which made stalking and voyeurism punishable
under law as these might be challenged in a court.
The GoM will be headed by Chidambaram and its other members
include Shinde, Tirath, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and
Communications Minister Kapil Sibal.
"We will pass the bill within the stipulated time-frame. There are
differences which will be sorted out soon," Tirath said.
"We will hold discussion in both houses of parliament by March 22.
The cabinet met today and all members expressed their views
openly. The PM (prime minister) formed the GoM and we will meet
Wednesday or Thursday and I'm confident we will arrive at
consensus and, either Friday or Monday, the bill will be taken up
in the house," Ashwani Kumar told reporters.
The ordinance proposes the death penalty in the rarest of rare
cases of rape and for repeat offenders while keeping marital rape
out of its ambit.
The ordinance was framed by the government as evidence of its
intention to treat the issue of crimes against women with urgency
and incorporated suggestions of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee
formed to give views to make anti-rape laws more strong.
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