NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD, Dec 4: The shocking story of the auction of women for prostitution in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh published by The Indian Express today rocked Parliament and jolted the state administration. The cries of `shame, shame' rippled across the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha as angry members waved the copies of this newspaper; and in Hyderabad, expressing anguish and indignation, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today directed Director General of Police H J Dora to conduct a thorough probe into the incident.The Indian Express today reported that at an auction at Eluru a few days ago, eight young women in the age group of 16-30 years were sold to bidders. The report also said that it's a practice among the Dommara and Bhogam communities to conduct quarterly auction of young women, to be sold for a one-year contract for prostitution. The biddings range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000, the report said.Chief Minister Naidu asked the DGP and the SP of West Godavari district to submit a reporton the incident immediately and asked the officials to take action to stop such illegal and immoral activities not only in Eluru but elsewhere in the state.Naidu appealed to voluntary agencies, gram panchayats and villagers to take initiative and prevent such incidents by reporting them to the police well in time.Parliament was today overcome with shock and anguish over the exclusive report appeared in this newspaper. In the Rajya Sabha, the Elders came together, cutting across party lines, to condemn the incident, and demanded an inquiry into it by the Union Home Ministry. Amidst shouts of ``shame, shame,'' Congress member Pranab Mukherjee - who raised the issue as a special mention during Zero Hour - said it was painful and shocking that women were being sold into prostitution for Rs 5,000.The Congress leader felt that it was responsibility of the state government to take steps to prevent such cases and demanded that the Union Home Ministry seek relevant information from the state. He causticallyobserved that it was ironical that such incidents were taking place in a state known for going hi-tech. This drew sharp protests from the TDP members, who retorted that such barbaric assaults against the dignity of women should not be politicised.In the Lok Sabha, the issue was raised by Congress' Bhaskar Rao, who, while waving a copy of The Indian Express, demanded that stern action should be taken against the law-breakers. He also asked for a direction from the Speaker to the state government in this regard. A number of other members too took up the issue. For several minutes, cries of ``shame, shame'' shook the House.The Indian Express report took up most of the time of the Elders during the Zero Hour. AIADMK member R Margabandhu said it was a matter of shame that even after 50 years of Independence, women were being auctioned openly. He demanded that the Government come out with a concrete plan to take action against those responsible.The women members of the House were particularlyagitated and unanimously urged the Centre to check such shameful incidents. Chandra Kala Pandey of the CPI-M wanted to know why the government had to depend upon newspaper reports to expose such shocking practices while Congress member Urmilaben Patel felt that there little dignity for women in the country.Her party colleague, Saroj Khaparde, demanded that the Home Minister find out the facts and apprise the House of the steps being taken by the state government minister to nab the culprits.Other members demanded that a Central team should be deputed to the state to study the situation and that special courts should be set up for trying the culprits in such cases. They pointed out that such incidents were not confined to Andhra Pradesh but were happening in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar also, where vested interests were pushing young girls into prostitution.Food Minister S S Barnala, who was present in the House during the spirited discussion, said the news report was alarming andshould be kept above politics. He assured the members that he would convey their sentiments and demands to the Home Minister.
