Union Minister Santosh Gangwar: Do not make an issue out of one or two rapes in country as big as India

The government on Saturday approved the promulgation of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, which allowed courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping children below 12 years of age.

Santosh Gangwar’s statement came in response to intense outrage across the country over the rape and murder of a minor in Kathua. (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)

On the day President Ram Nath Kovind approved an Ordinance allowing courts to award death penalty for child rape, Union Minister Santosh Gangwar said in a country as big as India people should not make an issue out of one or two rape incidents. The statement came in response to the intense outrage across the country over the gangrape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua and the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Unnao allegedly by a BJP MLA.

“Aisi ghatnaye(rape cases) durbhagyapurn hoti hain, par kabhi kabhi roka nahi ja sakta hai.Sarkar sakriya hai sab jagah ,karyavahi kar rahi hai.Itne bade desh mein ek do ghatna ho jaye to baat ka batangad nahi banana chahiye (It is unfortunate that these incidents happen, but sometimes they cannot be prevented. The Government is alert in all states and action is being taken. In a country as big as India, people shouldn’t make an issue out of one or two rape incidents),” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.

Gangwar also took to Twitter and welcomed the Union Cabinet’s decision to amend the POCSO Act. Gangwar tweeted, “I welcome the provision of death penalty for rape of any girl below 12 years and increasing punishment from 10 to 20 years if a girl below 16 years is violated. This will help in bringing deterrence in society. All of us have to stand up against this crime.” Gangwar, who is BJP MP from Bareilly, holds the portfolio of Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment.

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The government on Saturday approved the promulgation of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, which allowed courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping children below 12 years of age. The last time the government took the Ordinance route for an amendment of the criminal law was in 2013. Then, soon after the December 2012 gang rape in Delhi, the UPA government had brought in an Ordinance to provide for stringent punishment for sexual offences against women.

Earlier PM Modi, reacting to the recent rape and murder cases, had said, “I want to assure the country that no culprit will be spared, complete justice will be done. Our daughters will definitely get justice.”

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