Delhi Confidential: Acting Fast

Days after Maneka Gandhi announced that she would be introducing death penalty, the Union government brought an ordinance amending the IPC to award death penalty for rape of girls under 12 years.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi

Days after Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi posted a YouTube video announcing that she would be introducing death penalty in reaction to the rape of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, the Union government brought an ordinance amending the IPC to award death penalty for rape of girls under 12 years. While the ordinance steered clear of amending The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) so as to extend the provision to boys under 12 years, the WCD ministry has stated that it will soon move a Bill to that effect. On Thursday, Maneka took to Twitter, this time in reaction to the sexual assault of a two-year-old boy in a school in Kolkata, to reiterate her stand that she would be bringing in the POCSO amendment soon and a cabinet note to this effect has already been moved.

Tit for Tat

One of the BJP’s star faces in television debates was recently stumped by an opposition leader during an informal conversation among spokespersons. The BJP leader had made it a habit to call the Opposition leaders with the prefix “Maulana.” When the Opposition leader asked why he did so, he replied that it was what his constituency of listeners loved to hear from him. A few days later, the same Opposition leader termed the BJP spokesperson a “ghatiya” person. When the BJP complained, the Opposition leader retorted, “That’s what my constituency of listeners wants to hear from me.”

Waiting Game

Is Haryana off the Congress high command’s radar? Some Congress leaders are asking this. The reason — the state has been without an AICC general secretary for more than two months. Congress veteran Kamal Nath was AICC general secretary in-charge of Haryana. He was appointed president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress in April, and the party is yet to appoint a new in-charge. State Congress president Ashok Tanwar’s critics had been speculating that he would be replaced soon, but their enthusiasm has now died down.