Tempers fly at Rajya Sabha juvenile bill debate

Emotions ran high during the debate on the Juvenile Justice Bill prompting members in the Rajya Sabha to give examples that raised many eyebrows. During the debate, BSP MP S.C. Mishra said adults can also have polluted minds and need to be sent to correctional homes, citing the example of Union minister V.K. Singh which drew sharp reaction from the treasury benches.

Mr Mishra, while supporing the bill, insisited that Mr Singh needed to be sent to such a home and refused to take back his words. The words were expunged later. It may be recalled that Mr Singh had recently come under heavy fire from various political parties for his “dog” remarks which were construed as “casteist” and “inhumane” while he attempted to delink the Central government from the murder of two dalit children in Haryana.

Republican Party of India (RPI) MP from Maharashtra Ramdas Athawale, who came up with a strange analogy to lash out against rapists, saying, “Those who want to satisfy their sexual urge should get married.” He also recited a poem with cuss words which were expunged by the chair.

Amidst the outpour of emotions by members on the sensitive issue, the CPI(M) and Trinamul resorted to blame game over allegations of rising crimes against women in West Bengal with CPI(M) MP Ritabrata Banerjee drawing the attention of the crime graph in the state under the Trinamul regime and the Park Street gangrape incident had drawn sharp reaction and criticism of the Trinamul government which had initially dubbed it as a “concocted incident”.

The charged emotions also reflected when Trinamul MP Derek o Brien cited his example to show solidarity with Nirbhaya’s family saying he may have “shot” the rapists had his daughter been in the place of Nirbhaya on the fateful night. Shocked members said the remarks were highly objectionable as he was speaking as a member of Parliament and was required to speak more responsibly.