After a six-hour debate,the Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Criminal Law (amendment) Bill 2013 that provides for stringent punishment for rape,including life term or even death for repeat offenders,and penalties for other crimes against women like stalking,voyeurism and acid attacks. The Bill,brought in the wake of the outrage over the Delhi gangrape,also makes it clear that the age of consent for sex will remain 18 years. I wish to state that we are enacting the strict law to act as a deterrent, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said while replying to the debate on the Bill,which sought to replace the ordinance promulgated by the government on February 3. The Bill was passed after all amendments moved by the Opposition,and one by the NCP for life term for perpetrators of acid attacks,were defeated. The Bill states that an offender can be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of not less than 20 years,which can be extended to life term. It has provisions for handing out death sentence to offenders convicted earlier for such crimes. For the first time,the Bill defines stalking and voyeurism as non-bailable offences if repeated for a second time. Perpetrators of acid attacks will get a 10-year jail term. During the debate,JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said discrimination against women is ingrained not just in our blood but in our bones,making references to the abuse that Draupadi was subjected to in the Mahabharata and the trial by fire that Sita had to undergo to prove her purity. That is the yardstick that is always cited and the onus is always on the woman to prove that she has not erred, he said. BJP member Bhola Singh drew laughter as well as exasperated sighs when he recounted several anecdotes relating to Mahabharata and Ramayana. His remarks that parents do not celebrate the birth of a girl child drew angry reactions from women MPs. An angry Supriya Sule had to remind the House that the debate was not on gender discrimination but sexual attacks on women. BJP member Sumitra Mahajan also brought in some semblance of balance when she said a strict law should be passed to protect women from sexual violence and that the law was not against men. She,however,cautioned against the possibility of its wide misuse. Congress member Sandeep Dikshit said there is no clarity in the law on how to deal with a 17-year-old boy who is caught in a sexual crime against a 17-year-old girl. Moving the Bill for consideration earlier in the day,Shinde sought the support of all parties,saying let us honour the braveheart,referring to the 23-year-old paramedic student who was gangraped on December 16. Time has come to send out a loud,clear and deterrent signal that the society will not tolerate such errant behaviour, he said.
